Next Generation of A Capella
by MKAmericanhero
Summary: Beca and Kommissar are married...that's right I said married...and are now adding a new member to their family.
1. Chapter 1

**So…I have other stories that need my attention, but the idea for this story made me feel better and I'm in a rough place right now so I decided to do some self-care writing and this is what came of it. Fair warning, I will ALWAYS love Beca with Chloe, but Kommissar is just too cute for words. Plus she makes Beca question her sexuality…which is always a plus.**

It was a warm spring day and Chloe was furious that she was stuck inside with the rest of the staff, sitting though their weekly teachers meeting. After college, both Beca and Aubrey rode Chloe hard until she went for her credential and pursued teaching instead of being an exotic dancer. Chloe had to admit that teaching her kids ever year was a rewarding job and being the choir director kept her busy and allowed her to sing everyday. Needless to say she was happy.

She had moved to LA when Beca had and they lived together until Aubrey had joined them about a year after they left Georgia. Chloe lived with Beca up until the tiny brunette got married. That's right married. Beca f-ing Mitchell said I do. And she didn't say it to just anyone….oh no that would be too simple. Chloe should've seen it coming the second they met the team captains at the car show…Beca had a huge toner for Kommissar and and the feeling was mutual. The remainder of their time spent in Europe after Worlds was over, the bellas saw very little of their fearless leader because Beca was busy following the tall German singer around like a puppy. Chloe didn't want to see Beca get hurt, but Aubrey stepped in and stopped Chloe from getting involved.

"Chloe you have to let her stand on her own two feet. She's a grown woman, she knows what she does and doesn't want."

"Coming from you, I'm shocked. She is sleeping with the enemy." Chloe pointed to the dance floor where the two were dancing very close together.

"Chloe grow up, they are dancing together. And if they did take it into the bedroom, so what? God knows Beca could use it and that German looks like she could stand to let her hair down too. I know you don't want her hurt Chloe, but I think this woman could be good for Beca. We both know she needs a tall blonde to argue with and keep her in line and as much as I love her I do not swing that way." Chloe looked around Aubrey's head and saw what she knew was eventually coming. She saw their most recent enemy lean down and kiss her best friend powerfully on the mouth. Chloe relaxed a little when Beca returned the kiss and seemed to be enjoying herself on the dance floor.

That night in Denmark had happened 6 years ago. Most of the Bellas had settled on either coast, with Beca, Chloe, Stacey, Amy and Aubrey settling in California and the rest of them settling in New York or DC. Beca and Kommissar did long distance dating for about 8 months when the German woman had decided that it wasn't going to work like that. Beca was prepared to hear the words that would end her relationship, but instead she heard suitcases being pulled out, things being thrown inside and a whole lot of yelling in German. Kommissar was tired of a long distance relationship and she truly felt as though she wanted to build a life for herself in America with Beca. Germany would always be her home and DSM would always be her family, but after a long talk with Pieter she knew she was making the right choice. Pieter became the head of DSM and Kommissar was able to spend her last week in Germany with her team and her family. Chloe had found a place where her and Aubrey could live together; giving Beca the apartment they had previously shared. Chloe watched from the sidelines at the airport as Kommissar weaved in and out of the amount of people in baggage claim. She watched Beca's eyes light up when she spotted her and she watched as Beca ran toward her full tilt. The years between that day at the airport and the one that Chloe was currently sitting in had been packed with all the major life events you would expect. The girls all had jobs, or went to graduate school for one thing or another. Some of them had men or women in their lives, but Beca and Cynthia Rose were the only two Bellas from their time at Barden that were married.

Chloe was brought back into reality when she heard the chairs scratch at the floor, signaling that people were leaving the meeting that she hadn't paid any attention to. She grabbed her things and began to head out as she grabbed a few words with the principal of the school. They walked down the hall together and were suddenly interrupted as a woman started sprinting down the hall toward them. Chloe looked and could recognize that it was Aubrey and she panicked: she only would be acting like this if there were something wrong.

Aubrey got to the two women and she was completely out of breath.

"Get…your…bag."

"Bree, what's wrong, who's hurt?" Aubrey took a few deep breaths before looking back to Chloe.

"They called you a ton, but no answer so they sent me."

"Who sent you?"

"Beca, she's in labor."

"What? Since when?"

"They got to the hospital about 2 hours ago, but things are moving along pretty fast. They are going to have to do a C-section so they are prepping her for surgery. Now grab your stuff let's go." Chloe said goodbye to her boss, ducked into her office, grabbing random things before she ran back out to Aubrey and they hauled ass to the car. When they reached the hospital and approached the entrance they both saw Pieter waiting for them. He had promised the girls to come out a few weeks before their first child was set to arrive. Both women told him to stay in Germany, but Pieter wouldn't hear of it. He had arrived the previous week and had been helping with all the last minute things the new mothers needed to take care of before the baby arrived. For the most part he was there to stay with Beca during the few days Kommissar could not get out of meetings. He helped clean the nursery one last time and made sure the house was stocked with diapers, wipes and all the things the girls would need to have on hand for the first few weeks of bringing the baby home.

"Ah, I see you finally got a hold of the elusive ginger snap."

"Hey, you know my name. No funny nicknames. And only Beca can call me ginger snap."

"Luisa calls you ginger snap."

"She married my best friend, she could call me whatever floats her boat. Speaking of which, where are they?" The German waved his hand and led the girls inside and to the elevators.

"They just took the feisty maus back and began the surgery. The doctor told Luisa and the rest of us that it would take around 20 minutes, 30 would be the longest. We saved you guys seats and we'll set aside a few more for your friends who I assume are on their way."

"Beca's parents?"

"Both of them are on the way, but they will be delayed. Scattered thunderstorms throughout the Midwest make the flight on the East coast harder to get out on time." Chloe wanted to take a seat next to Aubrey, but she was too nervous to sit.

"Chloe, please sit." Chloe was shocked. She had never heard Pieter sound that desperate before. She took a seat and he sat on the other side of her and they both looked a little lost without their best friends around to tell them this was going to work out. Aubrey was texting the bellas and filling everyone in and Chloe just looked straight ahead at the hallway that led to labor and delivery. After 10 minutes of silence Pieter wrapped his arm around Chloe's shoulder and let her lean into him.

"The maus will be fine. She's strong and that baby is no doubt just like her. The baby just got stuck in a place where they really prefer to go in and get the child instead of trying to force natural birth."

"The baby was ok before they went in right?"

"Ja, baby maus was just fine. Stubborn and strong, like both her mothers no doubt."

"You said her." Chloe smiled and Pieter couldn't help but control his own smile.

"Luisa and I have a bet going. She insists the baby is a boy, I say girl. I guess we will see soon ja?"

"Yeah. Thanks for being here for them. I know you don't like me much, but we both love them and love that baby."

"That's not true, I like you. You love the feisty maus and I love her and Luisa and…they are happy. This baby will make them a family and after everything I've seen Luisa go through…well they are good people who deserve to be happy. You all deserve to be happy since you are Beca's….what does she call it….chosen family ja?"

"Ja. That is what she calls it. Thank you. I just wish they would come out here and tell us that she is ok." Pieter eyed his watch.

"Should be within the next 15 minutes or so. Maybe distract yourself by calling your other friends, make sure they are traveling safe? I'll be here and will call for you if they come out." Chloe ducked into the hallway and made a few phone calls to the rest of the girls who were, as Pieter pointed out, stuck because of bad weather, but expected to be at the hospital by nightfall. Chloe made sure she had called everyone who mattered and when she returned the room was still silent. Roughly a dozen members of the DSM group that accompanied Kommissar and Pieter to Worlds the year they met the Bellas all sat on one side of the room, while Pieter, Chloe and Aubrey took the chairs that looked right at the double doors of the OR. Fat Amy managed to find them and they quickly filled her in before they all resumed their staring contest with the double doors that led to the OR.

Aubrey watched as Pieter and Chloe looked so intently at the door, she was sure they would drill a whole right through it if they stared any harder. Another 15 minutes passed and Chloe couldn't hide her worry and began to pace. Pieter soon joined her and everyone else tried to stay in their seats and gave the two leaders their space. Just when Chloe was about to blow up at a nurse to get information, the doors swung open and even though the person was covered in scrubs, they both knew it was Kommissar. Pieter ran up to his best friend and Chloe was hot on his tail. When Chloe stopped in front of the German woman she could see tears in her eyes, but couldn't tell if they were good or bad.

Pieter stepped in, asking what had happened. Chloe couldn't tell you what Kommissar answered because it was entirely in German. Even though she was fluent in 8 languages, when Luisa was flustered, nervous or overwhelmed, she immediately lapsed into her native tongue. The entire second half of her vows during her and Beca's wedding were entirely in German because half way through she got so overwhelmed with emotion that the words wouldn't come out in English. After that Beca learned the language enough so that she could understand her wife, but Chloe wished she had done the same because she was looking between Pieter and Luisa, trying to gage if the blonde was telling them bad news or good news. Aubrey soon appeared at Chloe's side and caught the last bit of what Kommissar was saying and she rubbed Chloe's back in a comforting way as she smiled.

"It's ok Chloe, nothing bad happened." Chloe snapped her head back towards her friend.

"How the hell would you know? She's speaking in German and so is he."

"We lived in Germany for about a year when I was 5 before my dad was brought back to the states remember? I can't understand everything they are saying, but I know enough to know that they are both fine." Chloe watched as Luisa finally pulled away from Pieter and Aubrey was right, the smile on her face was one of a proud parent who was just happy that their family was safe and healthy. Luisa tried to slow her breathing enough to talk to Chloe, but nothing was working. Instead she turned to Aubrey and in very simple German told her what she was sure Chloe wanted to know. Aubrey had to listen very carefully, but she understood and turned to Chloe.

"Mommy is doing just fine after the surgery…and in about 18 years, Barden is going to get a new Bella." Chloe let out the breath she was holding and hugged Aubrey tighter than she meant to.

"A girl. It's a girl?" This time Luisa stepped forward and put a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"I apologize for not being able to speak. I just…she's beautiful and I love her so much already…I just…" Chloe waved her off and did something that surprised them both: she hugged the tall German close and they both let the happy tears fall. It wasn't like they had never hugged before, but it was rare. They hugged at the wedding, sometimes at holidays, but this hug was different and they both needed it. When they finally let go, Luisa brushed the tears away from her eyes, quickly gave Pieter a list of people to call and then she held out her hand to Chloe.

"Beca fell asleep, but would you like to meet you goddaughter?" This time it was Chloe who couldn't say words, so she nodded and quickly followed as Luisa led her to Beca's room. Chloe could see her best friend passed out cold on the bed when they walked in and she felt an overwhelming sense of pride and joy for Beca. She took a seat next to her friend's bed and held the hand that didn't have an IV in it.

"I'll go get her from the nursery, you're in charge while I'm gone." The blonde smiled before she disappeared down the hallway. Chloe didn't realize that she was rubbing circles into Beca's hand until she heard her friend speak.

"It's not nice to wake people up right after they have surgery Chloe." The redhead jumped slightly before breaking into a wide grin and the tears started up all over again.

"You had a baby." Beca's laughed and nodded.

"I sure hope so, or this surgery was all for nothing. Have you seen her?"

"Luisa went to go get her. How are you feeling?"

"Really high. They do not mess around with these painkillers. But even if I didn't have them, I'm pretty sure I'd feel high anyway. She's so tiny Chloe, but that kid just took my breath away. I mean we loved her already, but when we got to hold her, I don't know, it was different. I mean, shit dude, I'm somebody's mother." Chloe smiled because some things never change: like Beca using the word dude, even in serious situations.

"Congratulations mommy. She's a lucky kid Beca. You two will kick ass at being parents and she'll have such a large and weird extended family."

"Poor kid. Only a few minutes old and already she's got like a thousand aunts and uncles."

"Just think of how much money she'll get at Christmas. Besides you know she is going to be spoiled rotten every time you two turn your backs. Besides, with me as a godmother we all know I will end up spending half my paycheck on her." The friendly banter stopped when the door opened again and this time Luisa walked in with a tiny bundle of blankets in her arms. Chloe stood up from her chair and waited patiently, expecting that Beca would want to hold her daughter again before Chloe did. Luisa lowered her arms and let Beca give the baby a kiss, but then went over to Chloe and nodded toward the child in her arms.

"Ready to meet her?" Chloe nodded and held out her arms and carefully took the tiny bundle from Luisa. Once Chloe had the baby in her arms, Luisa joined Beca on the bed, allowing the red head to have a few uninterrupted moments with the brand new baby. Chloe pealed back the blanket and got her first good look at her goddaughter and of course, seconds later the tears were streaming down her cheeks. The child opened and shut her eyes a few times before locking eyes with Chloe for a few seconds and Beca was sure that Chloe just stopped breathing for those few seconds.

"Hey there little one. Look at you; you have you mommy's eyes. And look at those cheeks. Good cheekbones will help you when you want to hit those high notes. God you're beautiful. Did you know that? Did you know you're beautiful…just like both your mommies." Chloe cooed at the baby and after wiggling out of her blanket the baby grabbed Chloe's index finger…and in doing so, took a vice grip hold on Chloe's heart. Through a fresh batch of tears Chloe leaned down and kissed the baby's cheek as she continued to rock gently with her.

"You ok Chloe?" Chloe nodded her head as she brushed away more tears and she smiled at Beca.

"She's amazing you guys. I totally just had love at first sight." Chloe took a deep breath and settled back into the chair near Beca, still holding the baby close to her chest.

"Now that we know she is a girl, do we get to give her a name?" Beca smiled and nodded, looking to her wife to explain further.

"We talked about a family name, but decided we wanted to give her a chance to be more than someone's namesake. We wanted her to be her own person. So we poured over names, argued about her not being able to spell her own name if we made it too hard etc. And last month we finally settled on a name. So your goddaughter's name is Johanna." Chloe beamed at the name and gave the baby extra kisses.

"Hear that little one? You have a name. We can stop calling you 'the baby' now." Chloe looked back at her friends, "that a beautiful name you guys, very pretty, but strong. It suits her."

Beca nodded and smiled, "so does her middle name." Beca looked over at her wife and nodded at the paperwork that they had filled out right after Johanna was born. Luisa handed Chloe the child's birth certificate and gave the red head a tearful smile.

"With your permission, we'd like to break our own rule and give our daughter one family name." Chloe was confused as to why both Beca and Luisa had tears in their eyes…then she read the paper in her and almost lost her grip on the baby who was asleep against her chest. The certificate had yet to be signed, but in the box marked middle name was the name Grace.

Chloe smiled a sad smile and looked up to her friends. "You don't have to name her that you guys."

"Who said we had to? We want her to be her own person, yes, but we also want her to grow up knowing she has a strong name to keep her grounded. What would be better than a life literally walking with Grace?" Chloe just answered Luisa's question with more crying and at that point the blonde reached over and took the baby from her arms and handed the child to Beca before pulling Chloe to her feet and hugging her as she sobbed into the hospital scrubs she was still wearing. After giving Chloe time to cry, the blonde pulled back and titled Chloe's head up to meet her gaze.

"It is your choice Chloe. If it is too painful, just say the word and we will change her middle name." Chloe shook her head furiously before she could answer.

"No, of course you can name her that…I just…I'm sorry. I'm not even sure why I am crying."

"You lost someone you loved Chloe, hell we all did, but you lost the most that day. Tears are very appropriate." Beca spoke as she rocked her daughter gently in her arms.

Chloe smiled and leaned down to kiss the baby again. "I'd be honored and very very proud if you named her Grace." The tearful moment was interrupted when Pieter knocked on the door and he and Aubrey both stepped inside.

"We got tired of waiting." Pieter tried to act cool, but in all reality he was dying to hold the baby and everyone in the room could see it. Luisa carefully picked the baby up and hand her to her best friend. Pieter holding a newborn baby was perhaps the cutest thing any of them had seen all day. Pieter was such a large man, that seeing him hold an infant that was so small was adorable. He said something in German to the child before kissing her softly and handing her to Aubrey who was wondering why Chloe looked like she had been happy crying and sad crying. Aubrey cooed over the baby and went to stand by Chloe as she finally turned to Beca.

"So before I fuss over her new mommies, what do we get to call this future Bella?" Beca turned to Chloe and smiled, telling her friend that she could tell Aubrey.

"Johanna Grace." Aubrey froze and looked at Chloe before looking back at the baby and smiling like an idiot. Peter seemed confused, but everyone else knew the story behind the child's middle name. Grace was Chloe's mom's name. Aubrey had loved that woman like her own mother ever since she and Chloe met freshmen year at Barden. Beca, in turn, met and fell in love with Chloe's mom and over the years they had all formed an intense bond with the older Beale woman. Neither Aubrey or Beca had strong connections with their parents, so having someone love them like they were her own kids, meant more to them than anything else. Last year, Grace was diagnosed with breast cancer and everyone's life came to a screeching halt. Beca took all of her paid leave and went back to Georgia with Chloe, Aubrey did the same and when her schedule cleared, Luisa joined them. Even though she only met the woman a handful of times, she knew that Grace meant more to Beca than anyone else did and her support would be needed. They spent as much time as they could in Atlanta, but eventually Grace made them all promise to go back to work and that she would be fine without them hovering. To be fair, she did fine for a lot longer than the doctors had guessed. She fought the cancer and the cancer treatments for 6 months before things took a turn. Beca was in Atlanta at the time, meeting with another music producer about working together when Chloe called her in hysterics, saying her mother was in the ICU and Chloe was stuck in LA until later that night when her flight left. Beca ended her meeting early, citing a family emergency, and she rushed to the hospital and found her way to Grace's room.

Chloe's dad told her that things were too far gone to bring her back this time and Grace insisted on being able to die with dignity. Beca asked for a few minutes alone, to say goodbye. She sat in the room and held Grace's hand for 20 minutes before the older woman woke up and turned to her. Beca had been told that Grace could no longer speak because of the side effect of the medications, but Beca rattled off "I love yous" and pleas for Grace to hang on long enough for Chloe to say goodbye. The older woman just shook her head. She knew Chloe would be too late and Beca's heart broke for her friend who would no doubt get the news in the airport or worse on the plane. Grace waved at Beca to lean close to her and when she did, Grace placed a hand on Beca's flat stomach and smiled.

'Good…mom." Beca was in shock for several reasons. One, that was the most Grace had been able to say in months and two, she and Luisa hadn't told anyone that they were trying to have a baby, let alone that she was pregnant. Beca cried and hugged the woman for as long as she could and when she stopped crying she sat down and stayed in that chair for the next 8 hours. When Grace Beale left this earth she did so with her husband on one side of her and Beca on the other. That day bonded Chloe and Beca in a way no one else could ever understand and when Beca was told she had given birth to a daughter, she remembered Grace's last words and she decided that the only way she could be a good mom would be to start off by naming her daughter after a fantastic mom. All that to say: there was a reason everyone in the room was in tears upon hearing the baby's name.

As the visiting hours passed, everyone that was there came in and said hello to the new parents and fussed over the new baby. Chloe and Aubrey had fallen asleep in the chairs that turned into beds in the room and a nurse tried several times to get them to leave. Every time she tried, Luisa turned back into Kommissar and made it clear that both women would be staying and if she heard another word about it she would have to get mean. That nurse never came back.


	2. Pitbull

A week later, the family of three was allowed to go home and both women were thrown into the whirlwind that comes with bringing a newborn home. Beca couldn't get up and down easily and for the most part she had to rest in order to heal from her surgery. This left her wife to be the one who would do the lion's share of the work around the house and the baby. Thankfully Pieter had stayed and told the girls that he would leave once they were settled and didn't need the extra set of hands. With him staying in the guest room, Luisa was able to focus on her daughter, leaving Pieter to keeping the house from falling apart.

Two days after coming home Beca had a doctor appointment to check her surgical site and of course the night before Johanna had flat out refused to be quiet for anyone but Beca. Between feedings and just trying to soothe the newborn, Beca got no sleep and neither did anyone else in the house. Luisa had been by Beca's side all night, trying to help where she could and Pieter just went around the house cleaning and handing the girls different things that they needed throughout the night. Beca knew that the next morning would be difficult and that none of the adults were in any shape to be driving so around 3am she texted Chloe, apologizing for the late text, and begged her best friend to help them the next day by just giving her a ride to her appointment. Chloe responded an hour later with an overly enthusiastic of course. Beca wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, or when her daughter had, but at some point in the early hours of morning they both passed out while curled up on the couch. At 10:30 Chloe walked up the front steps with Aubrey trailing behind her.

"I still don't understand why I had to come with you?" The blonde complained as she joined the redhead at the front door.

"You had to come with me because the baby kept them all awake last night and if I take Beca to the doctor then someone needs to stay and help the two Germans with my precious goddaughter." Aubrey rolled her eyes at the choice to be the one left behind, but then she noticed the sign that was tapped over the doorbell that threatened anyone who rang the doorbell with bodily harm.

"I guess it's good you have a key." Chloe noticed the sign and smiled as she quietly turned the key and unlocked the door. As they walked in the house Chloe could already see all three adults in the living room and a second glance told her that none of them were awake. Aubrey shut the door softly behind them and followed Chloe into the living room. The two women looked at Beca who was out cold, but still had Johanna nested close to her chest and for her part, the newborn finally seemed to have given into sleep. Luisa was asleep next to her wife, leaving her legs to drape over the rest of the couch. Pieter had clearly fallen asleep leaning against the couch, but had since then slumped over and was dead asleep on the hardwood floor.

"Who do we wake up first?" Aubrey scanned all three adults and finally Chloe pointed to Beca.

"We need her awake and dressed and I'm sure she's gonna want a shower before I take her." Aubrey agreed and Chloe gently reached forward and touched Beca's shoulder.

"Beca, you gotta wake up." Chloe whispered as loud as she could without waking the baby, but Beca didn't move. Chloe was about to reach for Johanna when Aubrey stopped her.

"If she feels the baby no longer there she'll panic. We have to wake her up first and then take the baby." Chloe nodded and gently rubbed Beca's leg a little harder than she normally would. Finally, Beca started to stir and when she opened her eyes she almost panicked.

"Beca, it's ok, we're early. You have time before your appointment." Beca took a deep breath and finally relaxed. She looked down at her daughter and started to tear up when she saw the baby was still asleep.

"She was awake all night long." Chloe and Aubrey both felt bad for their friend. They had never heard Beca sound that desperate and tired before. Chloe brushed tears away from Beca's eyes and smiled at her sleep-deprived friend.

"I know she was, so how about you let me take her and you go clean up and get dressed." Beca didn't need much convincing. She kissed her daughter's head before letting Chloe lift her into her own arms. Aubrey helped Beca stand up carefully from the couch before going ahead gently guiding her toward the downstairs bathroom. Beca stopped at the bathroom door and turned to Aubrey with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"Could you ask Chloe if she could help me in here?"

Aubrey smiled, "of course I can." The blonde returned to the living room and tapped Chloe on the shoulder.

"Beca needs some help in the bathroom and I think she trusts you since you've already seen her naked." Chloe had to stifle a laugh in order to keep the baby in her arms asleep. She carefully handed the child to Aubrey before heading to help Beca in the bathroom. Aubrey gently sat down in the recliner in the corner of the living room and carefully moved the baby so that she was snuggled against her own chest. She rocked the chair and gently hummed, hoping it would keep Johanna asleep. The baby must have been just as tired because she didn't move at all and stayed sound asleep against Aubrey. Luisa shifted slightly in her sleep and reached over expecting to feel Beca, but she was met with the other part of the couch and that was enough to shock her awake…well sort of awake. She looked around the room with eyes that were heavy with sleep until she finally saw Aubrey holding her daughter.

"Beca?" Aubrey nodded toward the bathroom.

"Chloe is helping her get ready for her doctor appointment. I think she's getting in the shower. You can go back to sleep, I've got her." Her former opponent eyed her carefully, something that normally would have made Aubrey roll her eyes, but she knew it was just a new mother being hyper-vigilant when it came to protect her child. The German nodded and simply let her body fall the rest of the way so that she lying across the whole sofa. Aubrey saw her breathing return to a pattern that could only mean she was sleeping and she would have laughed if she didn't know that all the adults were that level of tired because of an all-nighter with the baby in her arms. Aubrey kept humming and rubbing the baby's back and that seemed to keep her happy for the time that Beca was out of the room. Beca soon returned to the living room wearing some baggy shorts and a tank top, her wet hair up in a bun that Chloe must have done for her.

"Everything still ok in here?" Beca looked at her wife and Pieter who were both dead to the world so Beca turned to Aubrey who smiled.

"So far she has been perfectly happy to keep sleeping." Beca had to smile a little when Aubrey's sentence was punctuated with Johanna beginning to squirm and fuss.

"Give her to me for a minute. I can feed her before we leave and then you can try and see if she'll sleep for you." Aubrey handed the child to Beca who quickly sat down and lowered her tank top just enough to allow her daughter to get fed. Aubrey watched as Johanna latched on effortlessly and began eating while she stared at her mother with wide eyes. Beca all of a sudden didn't seem tired as she cooed at her daughter as she ate.

"Mama has to go to the doctor so you get to stay here with Mommy and Uncle Pieter and Aunt Aubrey. Yes you do. But you need to go back to sleep ok. You kept us up last night and that means that you are tired too. Maybe if you are an extra good girl Aunt Aubrey will sing you something from this century." Aubrey rolled her eyes and Beca smiled in her friend's direction. Johanna finally pushed away from Beca's breast, indicating she was done eating. Beca burped the baby before showering her with kisses.

"Mama misses you already. Be good for Aunt Aubrey and please please please sleep." Beca gave the baby one more kiss before handing her back to Aubrey. Beca looked devastated to let her go, but Aubrey smiled and rubbed her friend's back.

"We'll be just fine mama, focus on your appointment and rest easy knowing that I'll be here." Beca smiled and brushed a tear from her eye before going over to the couch and gently trying to wake her wife. Luisa never really woke up totally, but she turned over and kissed Beca goodbye.

"Werden Sie in Ordnung sein, während ich weg bin?" (Will you be ok while I am gone?) Luisa nodded and snuggled back into the pillow as she answered her wife.

"Ja. Zwischen uns und dem pitbull Ich denke, wir haben sie alle im Griff." Beca smiled and went to grab her keys, but Aubrey stopped her.

"Did she just call me a pitbull?" Beca nodded.

"Don't act so surprised. You are a pitbull. Protective of things you love, powerful, scary when mad, misunderstood sometimes. Besides, she trusts you because you are a pitbull. She knows she could sleep all day and Johanna would be safe because you have her. So take it as a term of endearment and enjoy your afternoon with my child." With one more kiss placed on the baby's head, Beca and Chloe left the house and Aubrey could soon hear a car start up and pull away from the house. She looked down at the baby in her arms that was wide-awake and was getting ready to wail if Aubrey didn't do something. She quickly went upstairs to the nursery and sat in the recliner, careful to place Johanna back in a position where she could feel her skin.

"Ok, I know you just got fed and aren't due for a new diaper just yet, so how about more sleep." The newborn started to fuss and Aubrey panicked for a second. She was good with kids, but something about this moment felt very foreign to her. She rocked gently in the chair and started to hum, trying to think of a song that would lull the baby to sleep again.

"How about I sing a song that reminds me of your mama?" Aubrey looked down at the baby who was looking at her with wide eyes that really did resemble Beca's.

 **One thing that I know**

 **It will get better**

 **Each and every drought**

 **Ends in the river**

 **If I were a diviner, you'd be awash in rain to cool your fire**

 **Oh to cool your fire**

 **There could be winds of change in my auburn hair**

 **But I'll tie it back for now**

 **And when the bitter breeze carries a trace of fear**

 **We'll persevere some how**

 **We're gonna push on through, pretty girl**

 **Just like we always do, beautiful girl**

 **I know the world can be cruel, pretty girl**

 **You're gonna make it 'cause you've got love on your side**

 **The truth of letting go**

 **Lies in the answer**

 **That when the storm subsides**

 **I'll still be there to hold you**

 **There's beauty in your violence, and the dissonant melody I hear you sing**

 **Oh I love to hear you sing**

 **There could be winds of change in my auburn hair**

 **But I'll tie it back for now**

 **And when the bitter breeze carries a trace of fear**

 **We'll persevere somehow**

 **We're gonna push on through, pretty girl**

 **Just like we always do, beautiful girl**

 **I know the world can be cruel, pretty girl**

 **You're gonna make it 'cause you got love on your side**

 **Pretty girl**

 **One thing that I know**

 **Is it will get better.**

Aubrey stopped singing and softly hummed a bit longer until she was sure the child was asleep. She felt an overwhelming sense of pride in her ability to calm the baby and her joy distracted her from noticing the tall German standing in the hallway.

"Any luck?" Aubrey turned her head slightly and nodded.

"She's out."

"Not surprising, you sang very beautifully just then. She will never lack for someone to sing her a lullaby. Not with you all as family."

"I didn't mean to wake you. If you want some mommy and baby time, I'd be happy to go do some dishes or laundry." Luisa waved her hand to dismiss Aubrey as she entered the nursery herself.

"Pieter's snoring woke me and please, if she is asleep then I have no interest in nudging the bear." Aubrey smiled.

"Poking the bear."

"Same difference, no." Luisa leaned against the crib and organized some of the blankets as she spoke to Aubrey in a hushed tone.

"You said that song reminded you of my wife? How so?" Aubrey smiled and looked down at Johanna as she spoke.

"When Beca and I first met, we…well we locked horns a lot." Luisa looked confused and Aubrey tried to clarify.

"We fought a lot, about almost everything. I was convinced she wasn't meant to be a Bella and she was convinced I was an unreasonable leader who wouldn't listen to reason."

"But you were, ja." Aubrey had to admit; on this point Beca had been right.

"I was and Beca came in and everyone loved her, loved her new ideas and I felt like my legacy was slipping away. So we fought and I tried so hard to break her so she would leave." Aubrey would tell anyone who asked, that she still felt guilty over the way she treated Beca all those years ago. The brunette DJ had begged Aubrey to forgive herself, but self-compassion was not Aubrey's strong suit.

"But she stayed."

"Yeah, thank god. We would've lost everything if it hadn't been for her. She wasn't there to ruin my legacy, she was there to build on it and make sure it never died. I'll always love her for that."

"She trusts you more than the others, you know this ja?" Luisa never beat around the bush and honesty came easy for her. Aubrey was confused and Luisa could again see the confusion spread across her face.

"She loves the Bellas, all of you. Chloe and her and are like….sisters as much as they are best friends. The others fill special place in her heart and always will, but you…you are different."

"Why am I different?"

"You challenged her and made her mad. Mad enough to change her perspective and try to see all sides of an argument. You made her question herself and grow. But most importantly, you believed in her. Chloe has always been a good leader, but she needed someone to balance her out, someone like you…someone like my wife. You trusted her to fill your shoes when you were gone and having that decision come straight from you, made her feel like someone believed that she could and would be a success. You gave her what she should've gotten from her parents: you gave her unconditional love by believing she could do something as important as your job. And that is something she'll always love you for." Aubrey had tears streaming down her face when Luisa was done talking. Beca and she had developed a great relationship over the years, but this…was not something she ever thought she would hear.

"You push her and protect her. That's why you're her pitbull. And if she asks, you never heard any of that from me."

"Of course. Thank you for telling me all of that."

"Payback for getting my daughter to sleep peacefully again."

"That was my pleasure I assure you." Luisa leaned over Aubrey and kissed her daughter with a tearful smile.

"She just amazes me; every time I look at her. I just can't believe I am her mother."

"Babies are good reminders of how much goodness there still is in the world. You and Beca have the best bundle of goodness right here, even thought she hates sleep." Luisa brushed a tear away and smiled.

"Thank you. You know, when Beca and I met, hell, before we met, I thought DSM was going to be my life. I would take no spouse, have no children, and just dedicate my life to my work. Then I met Beca and it all disappeared. Now I dream about Sunday mornings with the kids jumping on our bed, demanding breakfast. Vacations to the beach, trips to Germany to see my family. Doing well in our careers so that we can give the kids whatever they need to thrive. In 15 seconds, Beca totally rewrote ever dream I ever had, because all my new dreams required having her by my side."

Aubrey was never surprised at how much Luisa loved Beca, but damn it if it wasn't the most beautiful thing to hear her speak about her wife as through she was a goddess.

"Hearing you talk about how much you love her is really something, you know that right?"

"She's my wife, I'd be lost without her." Aubrey smiled and brushed away another tear and she continued to rock the baby.

"Beca and I didn't always get along, I'm sure she's told you the stories about that, but once we got to know each other, we built a strong friendship and having her find you and fall for you, well, it made me happy to see her find her soul mate. Even if it was with our enemy."

Luisa smiled, "am I still your enemy now?" Aubrey looked at the German and back down to the child in her arms. "No, not since you two got engaged. I could see how much you loved her and how much she loved you and at the end of the day we all just wanted Beca to be happy. You make her happy and you work tirelessly to make her dreams come true and as her friend I respect the hell out of you for that."

"See, this is why I call you her pitbull. You want what is best for her and you'd fight like hell to make sure she got it. Your friendship may have started out on rock ground, but you and the red head would fight to the death for Beca to be happy, even though that meant making peace with me."

"Rocky ground. We love Beca and Beca adores you, that meant that we love you too. That's how friendship works, at least with the Bellas it is how it works. Besides, you and I have developed our own friendship over the years, just like you and Chloe have. We love you too."

"Beca is very blessed to have you all in her life and in her heart." Aubrey smiled. "The same could be said about you and Johanna. Beca always thought she would never be a good mom because of her relationship with her parents and because of their divorce she never trusted the idea of marriage, then she met you. And now here we are."

"I guess life never turns out the way you planned and for a good reason." Aubrey had to agree, none of their lives had turned out exactly how they had planned, but damn it if they didn't turn out beautifully. Luisa went over to Aubrey and leaned down, kissing her daughter gently before mumbling something in German.

"I'm going to grab a shower while you have her. Just holler for me of Pieter if you need anything." Luisa left the room and Aubrey went back to singing softly to Johanna. Soon both Johanna and Aubrey were napping peacefully in the nursery. When Chloe and Beca returned from the doctor appointment Beca's heart melted when she found her daughter sound asleep against her friend's chest. She kissed Johanna's head and then surprised Chloe by kissing Aubrey's forehead before lifting the infant from her friend's arms. Beca placed Johanna in her crib and ushered Chloe out of the room, leaving Aubrey asleep in the chair next to the crib.

"Told you she would sleep for Aubrey. Jojo loves her pitbull." Beca rolled her eyes at Chloe's nickname for Aubrey and Johanna, but she had to admit, Aubrey did seem to have the magic touch when it came to babies….something she would and Luisa would remember as they made plans for any future children. For now, they knew whom to turn to when they needed a babysitter.


	3. Love You Awesome Nerd

Years had passed since the first Aca-baby had been born to the Bellas, but now the little girl that had everyone wrapped around her finger was not alone. Now she had cousins…and a few brave men and women who married the women she knew to be her aunts. Aubrey had gotten married when Johanna was 2. That very lavish wedding was followed by a welcomed announcement that she was pregnant, not two months after the wedding. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl who she and her husband named Isabella…a name choice that Beca rolls her eyes about every time she interacts with her niece (whom she calls Izzy, just to make Aubrey mad). Chloe, Stacie, CR and Jessica had all married their partners during the last 4 years. CR and her wife had adopted two children, sisters as it were, last year and Chloe and her husband had welcome the 5th Bella baby girl into their lives roughly three months ago. All that to say, Bella parties were now even more insane than normal…and the women loved every second of it.

Beca had climbed the ladder enough in her company that her name had made it onto a few records under the title of executive producer. She helped launch a few careers of artists who no one else saw potential in and her reward for doing so was substantial. Luisa was doing equally as well in her career in advertising, having finally gotten the corner office she had wanted since her first day. Now that she had become a junior partner, her schedule had gotten more labor intensive, but her hours were normal, giving her time to spend with her wife and daughter. With Johanna beginning school that coming Fall, both women decided to try to give their daughter a sibling. They kept their efforts quiet and at certain points it looked as though it may never happen. After the 6th failed attempt, Beca said she would do one last try before they would take a break and try again the following year. Luisa had agreed. Watching her wife go through the last year had been a nightmare and she felt so helpless, knowing that she couldn't step in a offer to carry the child due to a medical condition she never knew existed. That being said, 7 ended up being Beca's lucky number and the couple finally had good news to share with their friends at their Christmas party that year: they were expecting their second child who would be born sometime the coming summer.

Beca wrapped up an album that she had been collaborating on for months and the very next week she took her maternity leave. It was the very beginning of June and the baby was due June 12th. The nursery was perfect, just like it had been when Johanna was born. The house was spotless, thanks to Luisa cleaning every surface of the house twice a day out of nervous energy and the house was stocked with everything the new baby would need. More importantly, Johanna was totally ready to be a big sister.

"Mama, mama, mama."

"Jojo, Jojo, Jojo." Beca smiled at her daughter while putting a few things from her office into her bag to take home with her. She had left a few things at her office that she wanted at home during her time off and with Luisa finishing her last account that week, Beca was left to bring Johanna with her to the office.

"When is the baby gonna come out?"

"Soon baby. He needs to stay in mama's body until he is strong enough to come out. Just like you when you were born."

"But I wanna meet him." Beca smiled as she shut her bag and placed it on her shoulder. She and Luisa had both read how older siblings could see new babies as a threat and that it can cause issues…but Johanna was clearly not one of those children. She helped Luisa paint the nursery…or she helped up to the point where she could reach. She read the baby stories before she went to bed and she already had an impressive collection of pictures she drew for her baby brother. Beca was still shocked that her five year old had managed to keep the secret to herself that the new baby was a boy. Secret or not, the five year old was happy the baby was a boy, since it was more likely that he wouldn't want her toys. Beca smiled and led the child out of her office and they were met at the elevators by Aubrey, who had been assigned "Beca duty" as she called it.

"You two ready?"

"Yes and for the 300th time, you can go home. I do not need a babysitter. I'm pregnant, not disabled." Aubrey rolled her eyes and forced a smiled.

"I'm aware, but your wife made me promise you wouldn't be alone and since Chloe is at home with Riley, you are stuck with me tonight. Now, if you can be an adult for the next 20 minutes, we should head out because that rain is intense so I'm going to have to drive slower than normal." Beca let it go and followed Aubrey out to the car and quickly snapped Johanna into her car seat. Aubrey was right: the rain was coming down in sheets and traffic was moving by inches and then eventually not at all.

"Great, damn tunnel flooded and everyone is getting off at the same off ramp. We are gonna be stuck here for at least an hour." Aubrey threw the car into park and leaned back into her seat.

"Bad word Aunt Aubrey." Beca smiled and Aubrey had to do the same.

"You are very right Jojo, I shouldn't have said that word. I'm just mad because it's gonna take us a long time."

"What about mommy?" Beca turned around and smiled at the child.

"Mommy is at work baby and with the rain she may stay there until it is safer to come home, but she'll be home to tuck you in, promise." Johanna smiled at her mother and returned her attention to the stuffed dog in her arms: a gift Fat Amy had bought her days after her birth and now the child never left home without it. Aubrey kept her eyes on the road in front of her and the car managed to move about 12ft as traffic moved a little at a time. Beca had fallen asleep and Aubrey felt bad for the heavily pregnant woman who was clearly exhausted. Just as Aubrey was thinking about how being pregnant and being stuck in traffic must suck, Beca's body lurched forward and the brunette grabbed at her stomach, gritting her teeth and letting out a muffled shout in the process. Aubrey's face drained of all color as she looked at Beca.

"Please tell me that the kid just kicked you really, really hard." Beca shook her head and finally looked up at Aubrey with a panicked look on her face.

"I would love to tell you that, but that was most definitely a contraction and unless I missed my guess, my water broke with it." The adults looked at each other in silence for five minutes before Aubrey tried to figure out a solution.

"I'm going to call 911."

"And tell them what Aubrey? Come get us? We are stuck in traffic hell in the middle of a colossal rainstorm. How would they even get here?"

"I don't know Beca, but we kind of have to do something. Unless you want give birth on the side of the road." Beca remained silent and Aubrey dialed a number she had hoped she would never have to call.

"911 what is your emergency?"

"My friend is in labor and we are stuck in a huge traffic pile up on the highway. We need help and soon."

"Ma'am do you know your location by chance?" Aubrey couldn't see three feet in front of the car so she told the operator to hold on while she checked her phone's GPS before telling her which two ramps they were stuck between.

"Has your friend's water broke?"

"Yes and the contractions have started."

"Alright ma'am. I have ground crews that will try to access your location form a few different locations and failing that I will connect with the state troopers and we will send in some air support."

"Air support?!" Aubrey almost dropped the phone and Beca looked just as surprised. She was having a baby, not losing a limb, so air support seemed a bit much…until another contraction hit.

"Damn it. Do I stay on the phone with you or what?" Aubrey rubbed Beca's arm, lost as to how to help right that second.

"No ma'am we have your number, the rescue teams will be in contact with you shortly and in the mean time I will be trying to set up an alternative route for them due to the weather. In the mean time, try and keep the mother as calm and relaxed as you can. Is it just you two in the car?"

"No, there is a five year old in the backseat with us, her daughter."

"Alright ma'am. I'll let the police know and we'll be in touch with you shortly." Aubrey hung up the phone and looked at Beca, before quickly turning around to see a very frightened five year old.

"Is mama ok?"

"Of course Jojo, but the baby wants to come a little early so we need some extra help to get mama to the hospital."

"But it's wet outside and not safe with the other cars. Mama gonna get hurt." Aubrey was cool under pressure and could soothe her own child's fears easily, but this was new and she didn't know what to say to calm her niece. Beca however did.

"Johanna, listen to mama. I'm going to be just fine, ok? So is the baby and so are you. Listen very carefully to me though. You do not get out of this car unless Aubrey is holding you or a police officer is helping you, do you understand me?" Johanna was quiet and Beca turned around and repeated herself.

"Johanna. Verstehst du mich?" (Do you understand?) The child finally nodded and answered her mother. "Ja, ich verstehe." (Yes, I understand)

"Mama liebt dich Engel." (Mama loves you angel)

"Ich liebe dich auch mama." (I love you too mama) Beca smiled and turned back around, rubbing her belly and trying not to think about the situation hey were all in.

"Wanna take bets on you having to deliver my kid on the side of the road?" Beca laughed, because what else could she do and Aubrey shook her head and sighed.

"Knowing our luck, that's exactly what is going to happen." Aubrey's thoughts went right to giving birth to Isabella and she was trying so hard to remember everything, just in case the unthinkable happened that night. She was brought out of her thoughts when Beca gentle gripped her forearm, causing the blonde to look up.

"Listen. I know I give you shit and probably always will, but there is no one else on this earth that I trust to do this with me. I wish my wife was here of course, but if it comes to it, you are the only person Luisa and I trust like that. You all are my family, but you and I are not as different as we like to pretend to be and Luisa trusts you to be protective of me when she isn't around. If I had to pick one Bella to deliver my son tonight on the side of a freaking highway, it would be you any day of the week."

"It's a boy?" Beca rolled her eyes.

"Out of that heartfelt speech, that's the one thing you heard?" Aubrey had to laugh a little before brushing a few tears from her eyes. She reached over and grabbed Beca's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm going to get all three of you out of here, regardless of if it's with him still in your body or if you are holding him as he screams his way into this world. I won't let anything touch him…or you." The moment was broken when Aubrey's phone rang and while she tried to help the rescue team, Beca grabbed her phone to call her wife. Three rings in and the other end of the line clicked through.

"Did the pit bull get you both home safely? The rain looks terrible from what we can see from the conference room." Beca could hear other voices in the background and she hated the bomb she was about to drop on her wife, but she needed to know.

"Yeah, about that…your son decided he wants to be born tonight."

"What? You're in labor? Are you at the hospital?"

"Yeah, about that…your son decided he wants to be born in the car on the side of the highway."

"The highway!"

"I know, trust me I know. The tunnel flooded and everyone is trying to get off on the same ramp and I'm sure there is something in the way because everything is at a damn stand still."

"I'm leaving this meeting."

"And doing what Luisa? We are stuck and even the emergency people are having a hard time reaching us, you would stuck in this traffic when I need you safe in your office. Once we get to the hospital then you can leave since it's 4 blocks from your building. Hell, you could run there if you want to."

"How is Johanna?" Beca sighed and turned around to see her daughter snuggled with her stuffed dog.

"She is fine and perfectly safe."

"Does the pit bull have an idea on how to get you all out of there?"

"Well she's on the phone with three different emergency teams and I think she just offered one of them money to move faster."

"Do you think they have enough time to get you before you need to deliver?"

Beca paused and tried to assess the situation. With Johanna, everything felt different than it did with this baby and she was taken into surgery pretty soon after they got to the hospital. The doctors all said that the baby was in a good position to be delivered naturally, but Beca wondered how ready Aubrey would be to deliver a v-back baby.

"It's a coin toss. The contractions are closer together than they were before, but they aren't too strong yet."

"Darling, is it possible that your pain threshold is simply very high and things are moving faster than you thought?" Beca had thought of that, but didn't want to speak her fear out loud, not while Aubrey was trying to help them and while Johanna was actually calm.

"Once I hang up with you I'll try and see where things are."

"I don't like this Beca." Beca could hear the fear in her wife's voice and she hated it.

"I know. I don't like it either, but Aubrey won't let anything bad happen to us."

"Ja, the pit bull will likely live up to her name. Call me again soon and tell me what is going on and the second you are on your way to the hospital tell me and I'll get there."

"Ok. I love you."

"I love you too." The phone clicked off and Beca looked back to Aubrey who was rubbing her forehead like she had a headache.

"Any news on getting us out of here?"

"An hour minimum and the air team wouldn't have a place to land."

"So…it's you and me delivering my son then?"

"It certainly seems to be heading in that direction yes. Any ideas on how far along you are in terms of labor?" Beca shook her head and unbuckled her seatbelt. She knew that eventually Aubrey's hands would be in a place that Beca never wanted them to be, but for now Beca was content on checking how dilated she was on her own. She thought back to the labor chapters of all the books she read when she had Johanna and was able to at least remember the stages of dilation when it was compared to everyday objects.

"About 5, almost 6 cm. So we have some time. I think."

"You think."

"Aubrey give me a break, this may be my second child, but the first one was removed surgically. This is new for me too."

"I know, ugh, I'm sorry. I just know that second babies sometimes come faster than the first time ones do."

"Yep, Chloe read that somewhere when she was pregnant with Riley and kept telling me to watch out for that with this little guy. But, his head hasn't dropped down totally yet, that much I can tell you for sure." Aubrey wasn't sure if that was supposed to make her feel better, but it gave her some time to think. She thought about the things she ah dint he car and googled a few things about delivering babies and she convinced herself she could do this…I mean, what choice did they have. She turned around to see Johanna playing with her stuffed toy like nothing weird was happening and Aubrey desperately wanted her to stay in a peaceful state of mind. She grabbed Beca's bag from behind her seat and dug out Beca's earphones.

"Hey Jojo, I need you to focus for a second." The little girl looked up and Aubrey never felt so intimidated by the daze of a child before.

"If mama has the baby in the car, then I'm gonna have you put these on over your ears."

"Like when mama is working on her music." Aubrey smiled and nodded.

"Exactly. So you hold these for me and when I say so you put them over your ears."

"Why?"

"Because when women have babies, it hurts and we don't want to scare you."

"The baby gonna hurt mama?"

"Not on purpose monkey, it happens with most babies. Mommies hurt for a little bit because they need to get the baby out, then they feel much better. It's not the babies fault though." The child seemed to back off that line of questioning and Beca smiled at the idea that her daughter had a huge problem with her little brother "hurting" her as she gave birth.

Aubrey kept trying to guide the paramedics to them, but she final gave up on trying to encourage them to hurry the hell up. She rolled up the sleeves on her shirt, out her hair up in a bun and took out a bottle of hand sanitizer she kept in the center console of her car.

"Are you getting ready for surgery Aubrey? You know you don't need to scrub your skin raw, right?"

"I'm so glad you still have a sense of humor while in active labor." Just then Beca grit her teeth and the joking stopped.

"Ok, that one felt different." Aubrey was afraid of that, but knew that push was literally coming to shove and this baby was going to be born in her car. She looked at where they were stopped and after throwing on the hazard lights she reached for her door handle.

"I need to get some stuff from the back of the car, just stay there." Beca looked at her friend and rolled her eyes.

"I was actually thinking of moving around a whole lot. Where am I gonna go Aubrey?"

"Hey, I'm in charge now so stop with the sass. I know you are scared and so am I, but I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Beca nodded and soon Aubrey was outside of the car, trying to run to the back of her car without getting soaking wet. It didn't help much and she was mostly wet by the time she reached the trunk of her SUV. She grabbed the emergency kit she kept back there and returned to the inside of the car.

"Yeah so that rain can fuck off."

"Bad word." Once again Aubrey was scolded by the child in the back seat.

"I know, I'm sorry monkey. Aunt Aubrey just hates getting soaked." Aubrey dug through the bag and grabbed the few things that would be useful like gloves and scissors.

"How's the kid doing now?" Aubrey looked over at Beca who was doing her Lamaze breathing with her eyes shut.

"Super, but he is most definitely wanting out sooner than his sister ever did."

"Can you feel his head?"

"Kind of."

"Kind of? Ok well, then here comes the awkward part…can I check?" Beca undid her seatbelt and shifted in her seat, trying to give Aubrey a better chance to help her. Aubrey put the gloves on and after pushing aside all of her awkward feelings checked to see how close Beca was to honestly needing to push.

"Well, good news is, his head dropped down in the position you want it in. Bad news is, that means we have maybe 20 minutes at the rate he seems to be going."

"Super." Beca definitely didn't want her night to end this way, but this was the position they found themselves in and as long as both her children were ok by the end of the night, Beca wouldn't mind the bizarre way her son came into this world. Beca looked in the back seat and made sure her daughter was still buckled up in her car seat.

"Hey Jojo, how about you put mama's headphones on now, ok?"

"Cuz the baby wants to come out?"

Beca smiled, "yeah baby he does. So just out them on like you do at home and Aunt Aubrey or I will tell you when it's ok to take them off ok?"

"Ok mama." The child did as she was told and Beca turned back around and seemed to just stare out the window for a few minutes.

"I'm going to call my wife one more time, you call the rescue teams and tell them to be ready to move a newborn when they get us. And you should let everyone else know what's going on. I can't believe this is actually proving to be useful, but I am activating Bella phone tree #184."

"And you made fun of Chloe for coming up with that many reason to need everyone to be called." Aubrey made her calls and could hear Beca trying to remind her wife that they needed to remain as calm as possible and that she would call Luisa as soon as the baby was born and as soon as the rescue team had them on the way to the hospital. They both hung up about ten minutes later and tried to make sure they had the supplies they needed to at least get the baby delivered safely. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best they could come up with given their location and circumstance. The physical position that Beca was in forced Aubrey to balance on her knees and lean over in order to help with the delivery. The first series of pushes were more or less involuntary on Beca's part.

"Ok Beca, now you have to help him out ok. Next contraction, give me a big push." Beca took a few deep breaths before another contraction hit her and she gripped the armrest and Aubrey's shoulder as she pushed. This was repeated for a decent amount of time before Aubrey was able to successfully clear the baby's head.

"Ok Beca, we've got his head, a few more big pushes and we can get his shoulders. After that, it's practically easy."

"Easy." Beca laughed out and then followed it with a sharp intake of air.

"Trust me Beca. You can do this." Aubrey looked over her shoulder and saw Johanna clutching her hands over the headphones, likely trying to drown out the noise around her. Aubrey had a sinking feeling she would be paying for her niece's therapy one day, but she would have to worry about that later. Beca struggled through several more contractions and Aubrey was sure that one more big one would allow a safe delivery of the baby.

"Come on Beca, one more." Beca had her head back, panting and trying to find any strength that was left in her body to push.

"I can't push anymore Aubrey."

"Like hell you can't. I'm telling you to give me one more big push and you'll have your son and you want to tell me you can't do it. Jesus Beca, I fucking did this. If I can do it, then you most certainly can. Now dig fucking deep and push until I put him on your chest." Aubrey got Beca just mad enough that it gave her that last burst of energy and she did as the blonde said. She ignored counting to ten and simply pushed as hard as she could while simultaneously gripping Aubrey's shoulder with a renewed sense of strength. Both adults would tell you that in the minute that followed, it felt like time stopped. Aubrey felt the weight of the baby rest in her hand and in one fluid motion she quickly placed him on Beca's chest. Beca was sobbing and Aubrey knew tears were streaming down her face, but she had bigger problems to tend to. She didn't have any of the proper tools so she quickly took off her glove and began clearing the child's airway with her finger. After clearly most of the gross gunk out there was one singular noise that cut through everyone else's tears: the baby on Beca's chest was crying and boy did he have his mother's lungs. Aubrey hung her head for a second and did something she didn't do often: she thanked whatever god was listening for what had happened just then. The tears kept coming and Aubrey was literally about to try and figure out the rest of the giving birth in a car situation when someone knocked on the passenger door…scaring the hell out of both adults.

Aubrey grabbed the emergency blanket from her kit and had Beca hold it to the baby while she exited the driver's side door, again entering the rain. This time when she looked up, there were three police officers and she could see an ambulance behind the fence that separated that part of the highway from regular side roads.

"She just had the baby, I need someone to help me now." One of the cops called into his radio while his partner went over to Aubrey and she opened the door to allow him in to help Beca. Aubrey quickly jumped into the backseat and made Johanna focus on her so she wouldn't see anything that seemed scary. The police officer helped deliver the after birth and Aubrey swore she was going to burn her car after this little adventure. With the baby totally out, the officer tied off the cord and used the scissors from the first aid kit to cut it. Aubrey searched the backseat for something else to wrap the baby in and all she found was her faded Barden jacket, but it had a waterproof shell and it would have to do for now.

"Beca, I know you don't want to, but you need to hand him over to me and let them help you." Beca looked at Aubrey and then back at her son. After kissing his face, she wrapped the emergency blanket tighter around him before nodding that Aubrey could take him. The blonde quickly tucked the newborn into the hood of the jacket and wrapped him up in it so that they could move him while keeping him warm and as dry as possible.

"Ma'am it'll be easier if we can get the children out first, then have the paramedics move the mother."

"She stays with them." Beca demanded through tired breaths and Aubrey nodded. Aubrey unbuckled Johanna and pushed the headphones off the child's head.

"Ready to go monkey?"

"Baby ok?" Aubrey smiled through tears as she showed Johanna the face of her little brother who was still pretty mad at the world he had just been born into.

"Baby ok. So is mama, but we need to get out of the car first so they can get mama out ok. So when I come to that side of the car, I want you to climb on my back and do not let go ok. You are gonna get wet, but just hold onto me and you'll be ok. Ready?" Johanna nodded and Aubrey shielded the baby from the weather as she stepped outside again. She quickly threw open Johanna's door and the little girl quickly latched onto her aunt and Aubrey tucked her head down to protect the newborn from the rain and all but ran to the ambulance. The police had cut the fence and made a hole big enough to fit everyone through. Aubrey quickly handed the baby to the paramedic waiting in the ambulance while she got Johanna down from her back before she placed her in the ambulance as well. Aubrey stood outside of the ambulance, still very much getting rained on while she watched the police and other paramedics help Beca out of the car and onto the gurney they had waiting. The paramedic cleaned up the newborn and rewrapped him in a blanket.

"Ma'am." Aubrey turned around and he gestured toward the baby. "If you let me give you a blanket or towel to dry a bit I can give him back to you for the ride." Aubrey nodded and climbed in, quickly wrapping her hair in a warm blanket and accepting another blanket being draped around her body. The paramedic had her sit down in the corner of the ambulance and he quickly handed the infant to her. Aubrey took a deep breath and the realization of what had happened that night hit her and the tears started all over again. The baby was beautiful and looked so damn much like Beca it was eerie. Once Johanna was given her own blanket she quickly joined her aunt and wanted a better look at her brother. Aubrey pulled the girl onto her lap and help her close, knowing that space in the ambulance would be tight once they loaded Beca in there.

"That's my brother?"

"Yeah monkey it is. He's pretty cute, don't you think?"

Johanna shrugged her shoulder, "I mean I was a cuter baby, but I guess he's ok." Aubrey laughed and held the girl tighter, grateful for a reason to laugh and cut the stress.

"You were a beautiful baby, but so is he." Johanna gave her brother one more look and kissed his nose gently.

"I was still cuter, but I love you baby." Aubrey's heart was a puddle after that. She knew how excited Johanna had been to have a new sibling, but she was also still little and she was very used to being the princess of her house. But in that moment, Aubrey was sure that she would love her baby brother more than any of them thought possible.

"Does he have a name?"

"I don't know monkey, we have to wait for mama and mommy to tell us that." Right then they loaded Beca into the ambulance and secured the gurney.

"Ma'am what would you like us to do with the car?" Aubrey shook her head and honestly didn't care.

"Tow it, burn it, I don't care. We need to get them to a hospital. The cop smiled and went to go deal with Aubrey's car while the paramedics shut the doors to the ambulance. Aubrey managed to text Luisa that they were heading to the hospital and to meet them there. The ambulance took off and Aubrey held both children close to her to protect them from the sound. Beca was so tired that by the time they got to the ER she was almost totally asleep. Aubrey followed the gurney as far as they would let her, and even then she wouldn't let them take the kids.

"Ma'am we need to run some tests on him."

"Then I will be coming with you." This back and forth happened for a while until the nurse relented and just told Aubrey she would have to wait outside the room and Aubrey agreed. While she watched them poke and measure her nephew a passing nurse was kind enough to offer Aubrey a set of dry scrubs, which she desperately needed. Not caring who was watching she slipped her wet shirt off before putting the dark blue scrub top on and then doing the same with the pants. She tossed her clothes in the garbage, literally not interested in trying to save them. She got more warm blankets for Johanna and by the time she was done with that she could see the nurse coming back with Beca's son in her arms.

"All things considered he is perfectly healthy. APGAR was an 8 and he has very powerful lungs. Strong heartbeat too." She handed the baby back to Aubrey and then pointed toward the elevators.

"The mother is being brought up to the 6th floor and they are setting her up in a room now so if you head on up they will show you to the room." Aubrey grabbed Johanna's hand and they made their way up to the 6th floor and after waiting a few minutes were shown to Beca's room. The brunette was passed out asleep, but Johanna quickly climbed in bed with her mother and Beca wrapped her arms around the child and both of them went to sleep. Leaving Aubrey holding her nephew and trying to field frantic texts and phone calls. Maybe five minutes into trying to give everyone information the nurse from before walked in and approached Aubrey.

"There is a woman outside, dripping wet and yelling in German. Why do I have the feeling she belongs to you?" Aubrey smiled a rather proud smile and stood up from her chair.

"She does indeed. Lead the way." Aubrey followed the nurse into the hallway and after about 4 steps she could hear Luisa and she was able to simply follow the German swear words until she found the other blonde at the nurses' station. Luisa was soaking wet and yet somehow still looked perfect. In the middle of her tirade Aubrey cleared her throat and Luisa turned around and seemed to be caught off guard at the sight of Aubrey holding her son.

"I think I have something that belongs to you. Ja?" Soaking wet or no, Luisa wanted to hold her son and Aubrey knew how important it was after everything that had happened leading up to his birth. She handed Luisa the still sleeping baby and Aubrey couldn't tell the difference between Luisa's tears and the rain that still clung to her face and hair, but it was a beautiful thing to see: mother and son, finally united after a rather hellish day. Aubrey snapped a few pictures before Luisa even looked up.

"Beca?"

"Sound asleep with Johanna in her room. She's perfectly fine and the doctors just want to watch her for a day or so and make sure the stress of everything didn't cause her any issues."

"Thank God." Luisa smiled at her son and then once again looked up at Aubrey. "More importantly, thank you."

"It was the scariest thing I have ever done, but it was an honor and my pleasure to help her bring him into this word, but she did all the hard work. I know she wanted you, but I am glad they weren't alone." Luisa nodded and looked like she wanted to say something more when a nurse came over with a towel and some dry scrubs for her to change into. Luisa handed the baby back to Aubrey and quickly changed in a nearby bathroom before returning to Aubrey's side as she walked her to Beca's room.

"Do the others know yet?"

"The Bellas? Yeah, Chloe will be here as soon as the rain lets up in the morning and the others will probably follow suit." Aubrey held the door open and as soon as they entered the room, Johanna picked her head up and saw her mother.

"Mommy!" Jumping off the bed and running full tilt into her mother's arms was clearly what the little girl had been waiting for during the last few hours.

"Mommy, we got a new baby." Luisa smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek.

"Yes darling we do. I suppose we have to give him a name, ja?"

"Aunt Aubrey said you and mama have to name him." Luisa smiled and placed her daughter back on the ground.

"We do, but we need to let mama sleep first. How about you go back and snuggle with mama?" The child quickly returned back to Beca's bed and the movement woke Beca up enough that she looked up and saw her wife standing with Aubrey. Luisa came over and gave Beca a kiss and then rested her forehead against her wife's.

"I'm really glad to see you."

"The feeling is entirely mutual maus. Go back to sleep, you need your rest." Beca was far too tired to argue back so she didn't. Once she was snuggled back in bed, Luisa took a seat in the corner of the room, as close to Beca's bed as she could. Aubrey went over and placed the baby back in her arms and seemed to be getting ready to leave.

"Aubrey, that rain is still pretty bad. Please call your family and tell them that you are fine, but then just stay here with us. I'll have the nurse being in another one of those chairs that turns into a small bed." Aubrey hated to admit that Luisa was right, but the rain pounding on the window told her that even if she had her car with her, getting home would be very unsafe. She accepted the temporary bed for the evening and even though she had every intention of staying awake a little longer, the second she laid down she fell asleep instantly.

The next time Aubrey opened her eyes there was a small amount of sun beginning to peak through the window shade in the corner of Beca's room. Aubrey looked at her phone, ignoring the texts messages that she missed in the night and say that it was 7:30. She slowly got up from the make shift bed and as her body cracked she cursed getting even just a little bit older. One look at Beca's bed told her that Beca was still out cold and so was Johanna. Luisa was nowhere to be seen and Aubrey assumed she had gone to see the baby and deal with paperwork. Stepping outside the room, Aubrey walked to the waiting room and called her husband to check in. He offered to come by later in the morning with fresh clothes and some kind of gift for the new mother. Aubrey quickly said good morning to her daughter who was demanding her father give her the phone. Her next phone call was to Chloe who she didn't expect to actually answer the phone, but one the third ring the call clicked through.

"Good morning superhero."

"How are you so cheerful and awake? Isn't Riley still not feeling well?"

"She is doing much better and she got some good sleep last night, which means her daddy and I did too. Anyway, I'm almost at the hospital and I brought Jojo some extra clothes from her last visit to my house. I hope James is bringing something for you."

"He will come by in a few hours with something, but they gave me some scrubs so I didn't freeze last night.'

"Good. Can I grab you a coffee on my way in?"

"Please, maybe one for Luisa too, she is around this wing somewhere. I'm guessing with the baby."

"Does our prince have a name yet?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure. I passed out last night, but if Beca woke up at all I'm sure they talked it over and signed his birth certificate. Tell you what, I'm going to go find Luisa and you can text me when you get up to the 6th floor."

"Good deal. See you in 20." Chloe hung up and Aubrey went looking for Luisa. She didn't have to look far before she saw Luisa at the nurse's station doing a small pile of paper work.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Luisa looked up and smiled.

"I slept enough. Beca and I talked for a bit when she woke up around 4am. When she fell back to sleep I slept as well. You were dead to the world, so was Johanna."

"You could've woken me up."

"You needed your rest. Being a hero tends to make people tired I hear."

"I'm no hero." Luisa put her pen down, handed the nurse the paperwork and turned her full attention to Aubrey.

"I am sorry I didn't get to say this more eloquently last night, but I need you to listen to me very carefully. You may not feel like a hero, but last night and for the rest of my son's life you were my hero and I do not give that title away flippantly. Beca could've been alone in traffic, home alone or in her office when she went into labor and she would've had to deal with that and a small, scared child. But she didn't have to do it alone because you were there. You tried to get them off that highway and when you couldn't you made sure that help was coming. You made sure my 5 year old was safe and cared for and that she understood what was happening was ok and not something to be afraid of. You kept my wife calm…no simple task. And when everything else failed, you rolled up your sleeves and helped my wife bring our son into this very crazy world. You held him first. You were his first touch as you put him on Beca's chest. If I couldn't be there, I am so fucking happy that the first person who touched my son was someone who can teach him to love his family as fiercely as you love yours. He'll be a pit bull, just like you…and I've never been so thankful for that personality of yours as I was last night." Luisa was standing tall, like always, but her voice and the tears in her eyes betrayed her emotions. Aubrey made no sound, but the tears streaming down her cheeks spoke for her.

"I've seen how the Bellas are a family of their own and I am honored to have married into that. I am even more honored that my children are being raised in it. Last night, when I saw you holding my son, I remembered all the times you told me how much you and Beca were more alike than you would care to admit. I remembered the stories of how you met and hated each other for a time and yet there you were, holding my boy: holding a child of a woman you once thought you could never get along with. It reminded me how funny and odd love can be. No one would ever have pegged Beca and I to be soul mates, but we are. And you two would fight over if the sky were blue. And yet, here you are, best friends and soul mates in your own right. You are her pit bull, she is your voice of reason and last night, the two of you merged those gifts together and brought this perfect boy into our lives. I can never thank you enough for that, for what you did last night in that car. I can never find enough words to express to you how much I love you for what you did…but if it's alright with you, I would like to try." Without another word Luisa walked right past Aubrey and headed towards the nursery that was at the end of the hall. Aubrey was still in awe of what she had just been told and her emotions slowed her down, but soon she figured that Luisa wanted her to follow her to the nursery. Aubrey quickly followed and when they arrived at the nursery with the glass window showcasing the newest members of the human race, Aubrey scanned the room until she found the baby she recognized.

Luisa waved at the nurse inside who nodded and set about getting the baby changed and swaddled and while she worked Luisa reached over and took hold of Aubrey's hand.

"I told you that I couldn't properly tell you how much I love you for what you did last night, but you know how fond I am of nicknames."

"I am aware, yes." Aubrey laughed and sniffled.

"Well…I am asking you to be his pit bull. Like you are for Beca and Johanna."

Aubrey smiled and she remembered how fond she was of being referred to as their pit bull. "I will be his pit bull until my dying breath, I promise."

"Beca would ask you this herself if she was awake, but the nickname, or title rather, that she would like you to have is godmother." Aubrey's knees got a bit wobbly and her emotional response was better than any verbal one. She nodded her head as she cried and Luisa hand her a tissue that did little to dry her tears of joy.

"I'd be absolutely honored. You don't have to do that though. I love Beca too and I would do what I did last night again if I had to."

"And that is exactly why we trust you as his godmother. You'll guide him in a way that other couldn't. Last night, you were the closest to God that people can get. You were there when a new life came into the world. I'm sure you felt it when Izzy was born too, but it's different when it's your own child. We want you to be his godmother because you felt God's love fill that car when he was born and only you can teach him about that, about how it feels."

"I stand by what I said before: I am absolutely honored to be his godmother." Aubrey squeezed Luisa's hand and smiled through all her tears.

"There is one more nickname that Beca and I would like you to have."

"How can it get any better than pit bull?" Both of them laughed and Luisa pulled Aubrey toward the door of the nursery and led them in. The nurse greeted them and handed Luisa the baby before stepping out of their way. Luisa allowed Aubrey to sit in the rocking chair that was nestled in one of the corners of the room and she then quickly handed her the newborn. Aubrey's smile was wide and the tears kept coming as she spoke in soft tones to her godson.

"You know something little man, you broke a long line of female babies. I can't tell you how excited my husband is to have another boy around finally. I hope you like football and cars because he really needs a boy around." Luisa smiled as Aubrey kissed the child's face.

"You and I are going to share a pretty cool story about your birthday my new little friend."

"Which brings me to the nickname." Luisa pulled a blue index card from her pocket. It was the one they put in the baby's plastic bassinet to identify the family they belong to, their gender and their name.

"Beca and I were hoping you would share more than just the story of his birthday with him."

Aubrey was lost already. "I don't think I understand what you're asking me." Luisa held out her arms, silently asking to hold her son and once she had him, she held the index card out for Aubrey to take. Aubrey took the card and sat back down in the other rocking chair before holding the card up to read. Baby boy Mitchell was written across the top, then his measurements, Beca's room number and then…something that made Aubrey's heart beat faster and caused her to grip the rocking chair arm with her free hand. Above the line marked "Name" was a name that Aubrey did not expect to see.

Her own.

"Aubrey Lukas Mitchell." Aubrey was able to say it once through before bearing her head in her hands and quietly crying. Luisa let her cry, knowing it was a mix of joy, exhaustion and a number of other things. When Aubrey took a deep breath and looked up she reached over and held Luisa's hand with a huge grin on her face.

"We were hoping that you would do us the honor of sharing more than the story of his birth with him. We would like it if you shared your name with him as well." More laughter and tears from Aubrey made it hard for her to talk for a few minutes, but eventually she controlled her breathing and found her voice.

"My brain simply will not let me form beautiful words right now, but let me try and say this properly. I'm not just crying because I'm touched or honored. You know my dad and I were never very close. Hell even now our relationship is pretty rocky. He raised me like I was his personal soldier and my name was always barked like an order and it was never my first name, always just Posen. So I was raised with this feeling like my first name, meant nothing to my identity and that I somehow meant nothing. Even when I got older, even after I joined the Bellas, I always felt like I was trying to find myself and make my name finally matter. All that time I spent searching and today…you telling me that you are naming him after me is the first time in my whole life where I feel like my name has meaning. My names matters and it means something because now I get to share it with him and all I can do is thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"Noble ruler."

"Pardon?"

"Your name…his name. The name Aubrey means noble ruler. I can think of no better name for the two pit bulls in my family." Luisa called for the nurse and handed her baby Aubrey, asking her to bring him to Beca's room right away. As she stood, she held her hand out to Aubrey and when the other woman took it, she stood up and immediately pulled the German into a tight hug that was followed by more tears on both their parts. The nurse snapped a quick picture that she would give to Luisa later, because it was a truly beautiful moment. The moment was broken when Aubrey phone vibrated and alerted both women to Chloe's presence in the waiting area.

"We will have to continue this conversation later." Luisa smiled and winked.

"You fucking bet we will." They walked into the hallway together and soon ran into Chloe who seemed far to energized for a mother of a 3-month-old infant.

"Morning lovely ladies who look like doctors." Both blondes smiled and Chloe quickly hugged Luisa.

"Congratulations mommy. Baby number two is a beautiful boy." They pulled apart and Luisa smiled a proud, tear filled smile.

"Thank you Chloe. He certainly made an entrance no one will ever forget, but he has definitely stolen all of our hearts."

"I bet. Future heartbreaker." Chloe ignored her own bad joke and held out a tray of coffees.

"Since Beca and I can't have any, I got some for you two." Aubrey grabbed her coffee and started drinking like it was water. Luisa looked at Chloe who didn't seem shocked.

"Yeah, that's why Bree gets two coffees when I do Starbucks trips. I also brought some clothes for Johanna to change into since I figured you didn't have a way to get her some different clothes after last night." Luisa seemed truly relieved.

"Bless you. We got her dry and let her sleep in a scrub shirt, but I know she wants some clean clothes. Let me run these to her and once they feed the baby you can come on back and meet him and say hello to Beca. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll check in with the others who are traveling here as we speak. Oh, what can I tell them his name is?" Luisa beamed a powerful smile and nodded to Aubrey.

"I believe his pit bull can answer that for you. I'll be back soon." Luisa disappeared down the hall and Chloe looked to her best friend and became concerned.

"You've been crying…like hardcore crying. Are you all right? Is it the baby? Is he ok? Is Beca ok?"

Aubrey nodded and took a deep breath to collect herself.

"They are both fine and I am…Chloe I feel like I'm in a dream I'm so happy."

"Then why all the tears. Did our little prince break your heart already?" Aubrey beamed and she tried to speak clearly even though deep down she wanted to scream out the news.

"No, my heart is very much in one piece and is very full of love for that baby."

"Awww, look at you. You bonded extra with him because you helped deliver him. That's awesome Bree. And since you played the hero, I bet you know what his real name is so spill."

"Aubrey." Chloe looked confused and lost, much like Aubrey had been minutes before.

"What do you mean Bree?"

"Chloe, they…they named him…his name is Aubrey Lukas Mitchell." The tears started up again and Aubrey just glowed as she said, "Chloe, they named him after me. My name finally means something and for the first time in my whole life, I feel like I can be proud of it now." Chloe started crying herself and she wrapped her best friend up in a bone-crushing hug.

"It's ok Bree I got you. Just let it out. He's a lucky boy Bree. His namesake is one of the best women I know."

"They made me his godmother too."

"Well, check you out. You are just getting all the titles today aren't you? You deserve it Bree. You were there for Beca when she needed you and you were there for little Aubrey too."

"It just seems surreal. Like everything that happened was in a dream, but god damn it Chloe it was the most scared I have ever been and then when I held him…it just melted away."

"Let me guess, he has his mother's eyes."

"He does. How'd you know that?"

"Before you met and married James, the only person who managed to make things melt away for you was Beca. She knew how to ease your storm and now I guess it's a hereditary trait." Before Aubrey could say anything, Luisa came back and waved both women back towards the room. Chloe entered first, with Aubrey and Luisa following her.

"You know most women are happy giving birth indoors Beca."

"Too mainstream. Side of the highway birthing is much more natural…you know for the hipster inside of all of us. But oh my god, never again. I will say, he is pretty cute though, so he was worth the struggle and drama." Chloe looked at the baby in his mother's arms and beamed.

"I should say so. He's beautiful Beca, congratulations."

"Thanks Chloe. Would you like to hold him?"

"As if I you have to ask?" Chloe scooped the baby up and instantly fell further in love with him. She sat down and let Johanna crawl into her lap and she spoke with her goddaughter about her new brother and made sure to make her feel included. While that was happening Aubrey took a seat at the foot of Beca's bed.

"Alright superman, what do you think of you godson?"

"I think his first name could use a little work." Aubrey winked at Beca and they both smiled.

"He's amazing Beca and I'm just going to repeat myself…you did not have to name him after me. What I did wasn't that big of a deal…I mean any one else would have done the same."

"But they didn't, you did and it was a huge deal. You helped me bring my son into the world Aubrey. I can't tell you what that means to me and what it will always mean to me." Aubrey smiled and brushed tears away.

"And as for naming him after you, you should know something. Your name was on our list before last night ever happened."

"You mean you were going to name him after me no matter what?"

"Well, your name made the short list, so it was a one in four chance. But last night when I went into active labor, you walked through that hell with me. You made sure my daughter was safe and not terrified. You just kind of saved the day dude and my son deserves to have a name that is strong and honorable. I want him to grow up knowing that he can follow his dreams, but if he ever gets lost along the way, that he has a strong namesake that will guide him back to his family." Aubrey leaned forward and kissed Beca on her forehead.

"I love you Beca."

"I love you more awesome nerd."


	4. No One Can Top That

**Someone mentioned wanting to see some background of the two: like getting engaged, the wedding itself etc. And I spent today in the ER for a broken finger so I had time on my hands.**

Aubrey and Chloe were sitting in one of the nicest restaurants in LA and neither of them had a firm idea what they were actually doing there.

"Did she tell you what she wanted to talk about?" Aubrey shook her head as she checked her watch once more.

"Just told me to clear my Thursday night and meet her here by 8pm, which is fast approaching."

"She told me the same thing. Come to think of it, it was an order more than it was a request." Aubrey smiled as she sipped her water.

"When have you ever known her to make requests?" Just then Aubrey saw the other tall blonde enter the dining room and look around for her party. Aubrey stood up and waved, allowing Luisa to find them easily. She approached the table and their waiter quickly made his way back to the table.

"Here without the Mrs. tonight?" Luisa smiled and winked at the young man.

"Ja, she is in New York this week, so it's just me and our friends so I figured I'd take them to the best damn restaurant in LA." The waiter looked at Aubrey and Chloe who both still seem confused.

"Can I start you ladies off with some drinks?" Aubrey shrugged her shoulders, "I'll take a martini, two olives and don't slip any of the cheap stuff in there." The waiter smiled and turned to Chloe, "for you?"

"Vodka Cranberry please."

"The usual for you?" Luisa shook her head, "Not tonight, whiskey neat please."

"Of course. I'll let you look over the menu and be back with your drinks." When the waiter was out of sight Aubrey bit the bullet.

"So are you gonna tell us why you brought us here, to your favorite place to eat, when Beca is out of town?"

"So pushy. Relax and enjoy yourself. Dinner is on me so enjoy." Chloe noticed Aubrey's face contort. Ever the attorney, Aubrey never trusted a free anything.

"Now I know you want something. Spit it out. What did you need to keep a secret from Beca?" Luisa locked eyes with Aubrey and it looked like two animals trying to assert dominance.

"Drinks first, then I'll share why I brought you here." Luisa looked over the menu and ignored Aubrey's stares until the waiter came back with their drinks. The each put their orders in and once the waiter left Aubrey picked up her drink and leaned forward.

"Ok, I have my alcohol, now talk." Luisa took a sip of her drink and smirked at the other blonde.

"Always the pit bull. Already so defensive. Why do you assume that I have malicious intent with this dinner?"

"You invite us here when Beca is out of town, don't tell us anything but demand we be here by 8 and then you order her drink instead of your usual. So start talking: is something wrong with Beca, are you two ok?" Chloe smiled at the kind of relationship Aubrey and Beca now had. Once feuding enemies would now kill for each other and it was oddly beautiful.

"Beca is fine I assure you. In fact, I just spoke to her and she is in her hotel room, safe and sound after a long day in the studio. And we are doing very well in our relationship, I assure you."

Aubrey softened her expression and took another sip of her drink. "Ok, then what's with all this then. You are going through a lot of trouble to just spend time with Chloe and myself."

Luisa seemed nervous as she smiled at Aubrey's question.

"You two are Beca's closest friends and over the years I'd like to think of you as my friends as well. Which means that when something important happens, there is a good chance that the two of you will be at the heart of it. So, I asked you here tonight to speak to you both about something very important." Aubrey and Chloe exchanged confused expressions, but they didn't have to worry long before Luisa reached into her suit jacket pocket and pulled out a small box that she handed directly to Aubrey.

Aubrey and Chloe both froze. Aubrey looked at her German friend who was beaming which meant that box held exactly what she and Chloe thought it did.

"Go ahead, open it." Luisa finished her drink and watched as Aubrey slowly lifted the lid. With the lid open, she and Chloe were able to see the most spectacular diamond ring either of them had ever seen. Chloe was already crying and Aubrey was close to tears herself, but she held it together and looked at Luisa.

"You didn't just bring us here to show us this ring. Did you?" Luisa smiled and nodded her head.

"You are correct. I had ulterior motives." The two blondes stay locked in eye contact, like they were having a conversation that Chloe couldn't understand. Finally, Aubrey broke the silence.

"Well, we don't have all night, are you going to ask?"

Luisa smiled and seemed to swallow back tears. "She always tells me how lost she was before she joined the Bellas. How her family never really felt like her family because it was so broken from such a young age. She never had a place where she felt safe enough to be herself. Then she met you. You forced her to take a chance and trust people again. And she did and the result was you all becoming friends, best friends and sisters. You didn't just give her a safe place; you became her safe place. You all became her family, but you two were there for her always. You hold places in her heart that even her blood relatives could never hope to have. I believe it is customary to ask a woman's father for his permission to marry his daughter, but I knew the second I bought that ring, that there were two people I needed to ask before I talked to her dad." Luisa sipped her water and played with her hands nervously as she continued.

"I never thought I'd ever find someone like her. I never thought someone like her would love me, but she does and I want to spend the rest of our lives showing her how much I love her in return. So I am asking you, both of you, for your blessing in asking Beca to marry me."

Chloe was grinning like an idiot and trying to talk through tears. She gushed about the ring and after falling over her words managed to give the German her blessing. While Chloe calmed down, Luisa looked to Aubrey who was looking very intently at the ring. When she finally spoke, it was soft and full of emotions that threatened to bubble over.

"You make her very happy, everyone with eyes can see that. But more than that, you make her feel at peace within herself and I never thought I'd see her find that kind of peace. She found…found it in you." Aubrey lost control of her tears by that point and Chloe simply watched as Aubrey brushed them away.

"She deserves the best that life has to offer. And I believe absolutely that that includes having you as a wife." Aubrey handed the ring back to Luisa with a tearful smile.

"You have my blessing, my congratulations and my one and only warning."

"Warning?" Luisa smiled through her own tears and Aubrey smiled too, but it was her lawyer smile.

"She is one of my sisters and my best friend. If you break her heart, I will hunt you down and kill you. Understand?" Luisa smiled and offered her hand to Aubrey. They shook hands briefly before Aubrey pulled the other woman into a hug.

"She acts tough, but…you take care of her."

"All my life."

That was the end of the conversation that night. The trio ate and drank and eventually went home with goofy grins on all their faces. Luisa kept her plans of the proposal a secret from literally everyone, which bugged the hell out of Aubrey who loved being in the loop on all things. I few weeks after the meeting with Chloe and Aubrey, Beca and Luisa were getting ready to attend the Grammy awards, were Beca had been nominated for Producer of the Year. The couple had invited the Bellas that lived in the area to watch the show at their house while they were gone so a small group of Bellas were settled into the living room, watching stars walk the red carpet.

"Did they both wear tuxedos or did Beca lose a bet and wear a dress?" Stacie questioned as she carefully watched the TV.

"Beca wore a dress because she lost a coin toss with her girlfriend." Chloe added and they all laughed at the situation that resulted in Beca having to wear a gown. Just about the time they stopped laughing they heard one of the media members screaming Beca's name. All the Bellas looked at their friend and were stunned. Beca was wearing a black gown that clung to her body and showed off every single curve she had. The heels she wore added about 3 inches of height and her hair and makeup just tied everything together. Luisa stood behind Beca, playing the role of dutiful partner who isn't famous themselves. She posed with Beca for photos and held her close as they walked into the theater together.

The night went on as it always did: performances punctuated the awards and every now and then a mistake would be made that had to be recovered from, but all in all, the night was going smoothly. Then Beca's category came up and she started to shake.

"Breathe tiny maus. They will see your greatness, they'd be blind not too."

"You'll still love me if I lose?" Beca joked and Luisa smiled.

"I will love you always." She kissed Beca briefly, but it just happened to be when the camera panned over to her so the whole room erupted in aww's and laughter while Beca blushed beet red.

"And the Grammy for Producer of the Year goes to…Beca Mitchell." Back at Beca's house all that could be heard was screaming and celebrating for their friend. Back in the award ceremony Beca was in shock, so much so that Luisa had to help her stand up.

"You won maus. Go make your speech." Luisa pulled Beca's speech from her pocket and with a kiss sent her girlfriend down the aisle to get her award. Once on stage and holding the award, Beca took a deep breath and pushed the tears away.

"First, let me say that I am so shocked by this win. The people I was up against are artists I was inspired by and without them, they would be no me, so thank you. My girlfriend was smart enough to write all this down so I leave before that music. I'd like to thank my label for putting up with me, all the artists I've worked with who trusted me with their art and their stories. Thank you to my friends, my Barden Bellas who awakened a love of music in me that I thought wasn't there. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my…" Beca read the line that she was supposed to read out loud and the tears started again. She looked at Luisa in the audience and once again took a deep breath.

"I was going to thank my girlfriend, but she wrote on this card that I needed to thank my fiancée." Again, the room of famous artists went mad, applauding and standing up, finally understanding what was going on. With the ok from the stage manager Luisa was allowed to take that sacred walk up to the stage and meet Beca at center stage. Beca was so far gone, the tears were just pouring out.

"When I was a little girl I spent my whole life praying every night for God to give me someone to love. Someone who would love me like my father loves my mother. Someone who is good, and kind, and makes me laugh. After years of not finding anyone, I ran into you, a woman who was supposed to be my enemy and there was a moment when I realized the spark I felt when I spoke to you was there because you were my one. You were my answered prayer and I could never live with myself if I didn't ask, Beca Mitchell, will you marry me?" Dropping down to one knee in front of thousands in that room and millions of people at home, Luisa presented Beca with the ring she had showed Aubrey and Chloe weeks before.

Beca couldn't see through the tears, but she pulled herself together long enough to all but scream 'yes'. Her hand shook like a leaf as Luisa put the ring on it and when it was securely in place the newly engaged couple shared a delicate kiss that made even more people cry. Beca grabbed the award and walked off stage with her fiancée, not even noticing the standing ovation they had received.

Back at the house…well, everyone had lost their minds. They kept the camera rolling for the whole proposal because you can't buy that kind of PR and because of it, everyone watched saw their best friend get engaged on stage at the fucking Grammys.

Once the happy tears had subsided everyone sat down and gushed over how perfect it was.

"Luisa just fucked everybody over." Stacie pointed out with a smile on her face.

"How?" Chloe threw popcorn at her friend and laughed.

"How on earth is ANYONE going to do a better proposal than that? God bless your guys' respective partners because we are all fucked. You just cant top that."


	5. The Kids Are Alright

**Sorry for not adding to this story for a while, but I wanted to get one or two more chapter up before we lose net neutrality (thank you very much Republicans). Anyway, the kids are older in this one and one of them is experiencing depression and some other heavy stuff so trigger warning for those who struggle with that or self-harm. This idea struck me and I can't sleep so here we are.**

In the years that followed the kids grew up and some of the Bellas even added more children to their families. Chloe now had a son Mitchell…much as Beca had begged her best friend not to name her son after her, Chloe would hear nothing of it after they named Johanna after her mother. Aubrey had one more child, another girl she and her husband name Elizabeth, which just gave Beca ammo to call her niece Lizzie which made Aubrey so frustrated since now Beca would constantly call her niece Izzie and Lizzie instead of their real names. For her part in all this, Beca and Louisa had one more child, another daughter they named Kristina, a name suggested by Louisa who told Beca the history of Queen Kristina of Sweden. The story had been one Louisa grew up with and from a German perspective she was not a revered figure (in fact they were battling each other as countries during her reign), but Louisa always admired the fact that she refused to marry because someone told her too, she never hid her preference for women and when she was truly unhappy she left her throne to her cousin and converted to Catholicism. Beca had a hard time arguing her wife's name suggestion and when their second daughter was born, Beca agreed that Kristina was a fitting name, for their youngest child was already willful and stubborn in the best possible ways.

The two older children all went to the same high school which meant that the three Bellas who stayed rooted in LA often ran carpool together, something Beca never would have imagined doing when they were in college. On this day, however, Beca was stuck in the studio trying to wrap and album, Luisa was sitting at the airport about to board a plane to go to a business meeting in Colorado and Chloe finishing her afterschool choir practice at the elementary school. All that to say, this left Aubrey to pick up her daughter and Johanna from their school, while Chloe would give the younger kids a ride home from school once she finished her practice. As Aubrey waited in the parking lot for the girls she tried to field a few emails from her office and just as she finished the passenger side door opened and her daughter jumped in, followed by Johanna getting into the backseat.

"Alright mom, let's hit it."

"So eager to leave school and here I thought you enjoyed school." Isabella rolled her eyes, something that did not go unnoticed by her mother as she put the car in drive.

"I do, that doesn't mean I like being there for longer than I have to on Friday afternoons." Aubrey glanced in the rearview mirror at her niece.

"What about you? Are you always so eager to leave school by the time Friday rolls around?"

When she heard no response she glanced back once more to see Johanna looking out the window and not at all engaged in this conversation.

"Johanna. Jojo, you still with us my love?" The 16 year old shook her head a little and refocused on her Aunt. "Sorry, yeah I just spaced out, you know, long week and it's finally Friday." The teenager tried to sound convincing, but Aubrey knew how the girls sounded when they were happy, angry, sad and every other emotion and the tone of voice Johanna used told Aubrey that something was wrong, but she couldn't address it while they drove so she had to wait. Aubrey and Beca agreed that Aubrey would keep her and Beca's children at her house until Beca got home from the studio. Johanna insisted she could babysit her brother and sister, but Beca didn't know how late she would be and she felt better knowing that Aubrey was watching her kids instead of asking her teenager to do the job.

Once home, Johanna and Isabella went up to her room to work on homework since both girls wanted to have a real weekend to do nothing but relax. Soon afterwards Chloe dropped off the younger kids so they were joined by their younger siblings who did their homework downstairs before putting a DVD in and settling in to watch it while Aubrey got dinner in the oven and went into her study to get some work done. Maybe an hour into her work Aubrey was hyper-focused on a brief she was working on for an upcoming case, but she heard a knock at the door and it shattered her concentration for a brief moment.

"Come in." The door opened and even though Aubrey's eyes never left the computer she saw her oldest daughter standing in the doorway, looking nervous, a look that made Aubrey save her work and turn her attention toward her daughter.

"What the matter honey?" Isabella looked like she was lost for words: a problem she never had before because after all, Aubrey was her mother. Her daughter's lack of words made Aubrey all the more worried.

She finally managed to speak and say, "we were working on homework and I…I guess I saw something I shouldn't have." Aubrey's eyebrows knit in confusion because her daughter was making no sense.

"What do you mean honey, saw what?" Isabella again struggled to find the right words to explain to her mother why her help was needed and in a huff she finally ducked into the hallway and grabbed her cousin into the doorway to stand beside her. Aubrey noticed right away that Johanna was looking at the floor, avoiding eye contact, but the tears streaming down her face caused her more concern.

"Johanna, honey what's going on? Why the tears? Did something happen at school?" Johanna shook her head no and Aubrey started running through the list of things that could possibly be going on in her head and the girls stood there in silence for a moment. Isabella finally broke the silence, "you need to tell her, she can help."

Johanna looked more frightened than before and Aubrey's mind went straight to the biggest issue she could think would cause this reaction.

"Honey, are you pregnant? Is that what this is all about?" Isabella scoffed at her mother's guess, "no she's not, Christ why do parents always guess it's that, other things go on in our lives too."

Aubrey pointed at her daughter and shot her a look, "do not take that tone with me and if it's not that then one of you better tell me what is wrong or I'm calling Beca to come home."

"Don't, please." Johanna snapped at her Aunt and Aubrey was surprised at the reaction and it told her that eventually she was in fact going to have to call Beca because something was seriously wrong.

"Ich brauche Hilfe." Johanna and her siblings were taught German by their mother as they grew up so they were all fluent in both English and German. Everyone in the Bella's circle learned baseline German because when Johanna or her siblings got upset they slipped into German, just like their mother does when she gets overwhelmed or flustered. So when Johanna finally blurted out the words 'I need help', Aubrey at least had something to go on.

"Ok monkey, I can help you, but you need to tell me what is wrong first, then I'll help however I can." Johanna eyed her Aunt and then looked to her cousin who nodded her head and gently pushed her cousin to step forward. Aubrey stood up and was now toe to toe with her niece and she pushed the girls long brown hair out of her face and saw the amount of tears along with some signs of sleep deprivation.

"Honey, please tell me what is wrong. I promise I won't get mad. Just let me help." Then Aubrey remembered what her daughter said…she had seen something she wasn't supposed to see.

"Johanna, can you show me what's wrong?" The teenager searched her Aunt's face for signs of anger, but she only saw signs of concern. Having no other option Johanna sighed heavily and began to roll up her long sleeve shirt. Aubrey was confused until she saw what her daughter had accidentally seen minutes before: scars that ran from her niece's wrist to her elbow. Johanna lasted exactly 5 second with her arm exposed before she completely started sobbing and fell into Aubrey's arms, continuing to cry. Aubrey was still shocked, but she had to handle this situation and for the time being she was going to have to handle it alone. Aubrey looked over to her daughter who had tears in her eyes too.

"Isabella, can you go keep your sister and your cousins occupied downstairs." The teenager nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Aubrey didn't know what to do first, but getting Johanna to calm down enough to talk to her was step one.

"Listen monkey, let's move into my bedroom so we can sit down ok?" Johanna held tight to her Aunt, but slowly moved with her so that they were walking into Aubrey's master bedroom. Aubrey sat down on the bed and pulled Johanna down with her and the teenager had continued to cry into her shoulder. Aubrey let her niece cry for a few minutes because if nothing else, she needed a few minutes to come up with a plan. Finally, Aubrey decided that she couldn't let her niece continue to sob uncontrollably without trying to soothe her somehow.

"Johanna, honey, I need you to breathe or you are going to hyperventilate. Just take a deep breath for me ok." The teenager tried to steady her breath and Aubrey carefully pulled her away from her body so she could get a look at her niece who's eyes were red from crying. Johanna took shaky breaths and was hiccupping in between tears and Aubrey tried to brush the tears from her eyes as they fell.

"Just keep breathing monkey, it's gonna be ok." The teenager looked around her and he eyes fell on the door. "Aubrey and Kristina are gonna wonder where I am. I should clean up and go check on them." Aubrey gently grabbed her niece's hand and pulled her back down to sit on the bed with her.

"Isabella can handle your brother and sister, right now I'm worried about you and you need to talk to me honey. When did this start?"

"About 4 months ago, give or take a few days." Aubrey felt terrible that in that time no one saw the changes that showed Johanna was suffering from something. Johanna had spent nights at her home in that time and Aubrey was kicking herself for not noticing when the teen would be quieter, wear long sleeve shirts when it was 70 outside or just generally not act like herself.

"Did something happen?" Johanna shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, I would just get overwhelmed with school, sports and other stuff. It made the anxiety go away. I felt better after I did it." Aubrey reached for the arm covered in scars and she carefully ran her fingers across them, taking notice that some of them couldn't be more than a few days old.

"Let's get these cleaned up ok?" Aubrey went to grab the first aid kit from her bathroom and when she returned Johanna quietly asked, "are you gonna tell my moms?" Aubrey looked at her niece and tried to offer a sympathetic smile.

"Monkey…you know I have to tell them. Something like this, it's dangerous and they need to know so they can help you and keep you safe."

"They're gonna be mad." Aubrey finished cleaning the cuts and was about to put the bandage on when she paused. "Honey, they aren't going to be mad. Scared and concerned, you bet, but not mad." Aubrey finished wrapping the arm in an ace bandage to keep everything in place and silence soon fell over the two of them and Aubrey felt the need to break it.

"Do you think you can tell me more about it? Talking about it might help you feel better." Johanna pulled her knees up to her chest and effectively blocked Aubrey out. Aubrey checked her watch and realized her husband would be home soon and hopefully he could help get the other kids out of the house while Aubrey dealt with Johanna.

"Monkey, you have to talk to someone, it's gonna be a challenge to get ahold of your moms so I need you to talk to somebody, even if it isn't me. Just tell me who you'll talk to and I will get them here." At that point, Aubrey would've found a way to bring literally anybody into her home to get the teen talking.

"Aunt Chloe." Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief because this was doable.

"Ok monkey, I'm gonna call her right now ok." Aubrey took out her phone and began to search her contacts for Chloe's number.

"You can leave me alone while you talk to her on the phone you know. I'm not going to kill myself in the 5 minutes it takes to call her." Johanna realized she might have said too much and Aubrey's face grew even paler than it had been before.

"Not a chance monkey, I'm staying right here with you. Just hang in there with me ok. We'll make this better." Aubrey's call finally clicked through and she heard Chloe's voice on the other end.

"Hey Bree…what's up?"

Before Chloe could finish her sentence Aubrey jumped in, "I need you to come over to my house, now."

"What why? Are the kids ok?" Aubrey took a deep breath. "Most of them are fine. All but one actually, that's why I'm calling."

"Who is hurt?"

"It is complicated, but your goddaughter is requesting your presence and you are the only one she'll talk to." Aubrey could hear Chloe rushing around.

"I'm packing up the kids now, what's wrong with Johanna that I needed to be called in?" Aubrey eyed her niece as she laid in a curled up position on her bed.

"I just finished bandaging up her arm Chloe."

"From what, did she get hurt at school?"

"No Chloe, she…she's been hurting herself…for months now. I just found out about 15 minutes ago and I have a house full of kids and one teenager I can't leave alone so I need some help and she wants you." Chloe stopped breathing for a split second, but snapped back to reality.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes. Have you called Beca yet?"

"No, she is my next call, but she may not answer so it maybe you and I on this for now."

"I'm on my way, just hang tight." Aubrey hung up the phone and sat on the opposite side of the bed and laid down so that she was facing her niece.

"Chloe is on her way."

"I'm sorry."

"For what monkey?"

"For not talking to you…I just can't."

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry, ok. Chloe is your godmother and even when you were a baby she was always the one to make you feel better. Today is no different." At that moment, Aubrey heard the front door open and shut and she knew Chloe was not that fast so she assumed that her husband was home. When he came upstairs he shot Aubrey a confused look that asked what the heck he had missed.

"I need you and Isabella to take the kids to go see a movie or dinner, something to by me a few hours. Chloe and I need to help Jojo out and then we gotta call Beca." James nodded and looked sad when Aubrey explained the situation to him, but he promised to take the kids somewhere for a while. When Chloe arrived with her kids, James and Isabella split up into two cars and everyone agreed to go to see a movie. Before they left, little Aubrey came upstairs, a few paces ahead of Chloe and wanted to know why his sister wasn't coming.

"Izzy said Johanna wasn't feeling well." Aubrey looked down at her godson and offered him a sad smile as she ushered him into the hallway, allowing Chloe to enter the bedroom.

"Johanna is gonna be fine buddy, I promise. We are gonna take really good care of her and then we'll call you mama and we'll get you guys home."

"But…what if she needs me?" Aubrey cursed exactly how much her godson was like her. He was exactly what Luisa had titled him when he was born…he was a Pitbull and that meant fiercely protecting his family and leaving his sister did not factor in to that mission.

"Listen buddy, I'm not going anywhere, your Aunt Chloe isn't going anywhere and your mama will be home soon so we are all going to take care of your sister ok?"

"Promise?" Aubrey eyed her godson and felt bad that he felt so much responsibility to protect at such a young age. "I promise." The 11 year old eyed his aunt carefully, but eventually went back downstairs to join his cousins and uncle. When Aubrey returned to the bedroom, Chloe was on the bed with Johanna curled into her side. Aubrey sat at the foot of the bed and put her hand on Johanna's leg to indicate that she was still there and the teenager seemed to finally relax and calm down now that everyone was gone save for her aunt and godmother.

"Alright honey, you have to talk to me about this so I can understand. Where did you get the idea that this is the way to handle things?"

"Girls at school do it. I see the scars when we change for gym. I talked to one of them about it and she told me what she uses. It kind of blew up from there." Chloe kept running her hand through Johanna's hair and she made eye contact with Aubrey, but let the teen kept talking.

"I didn't think it would feel the way it felt and that it would help me feel better."

"I take it your moms don't know."

Johanna shook her head no, "they've been so busy lately that I didn't want to bother them."

Aubrey jumped in, "hey monkey, your parents are never too busy to help you when you are hurting. If you told them you need help they would drop everything to do what they could."

"I know, but…I didn't know what to do. It was helping so why bother them?"

"Honey you deserve so much more than this. Hurting yourself isn't the answer love." Johanna snuggled more into Chloe and kept on crying and both older women decided to let her have her moment to cry out her fear and frustration before they tried to soother her more. Aubrey held up her phone to show Chloe that she was going to try and call Beca and the redhead nodded her approval.

"Monkey, I'm gonna call your mom and see if she can wrap things up at work early." Johanna just held onto Chloe and nodded her head in understanding. Aubrey stepped outside the bedroom and hit the buttons to call Beca's office. It took a few rings before the phone clicked though.

"Beca Mitchell's office, how can I help you?"

"Michelle. Its Aubrey, is Beca in her office, I really need to talk to her."

"You know what Aubrey, she has been in the studio since before lunch and I haven't seen her up here since this morning. Can I take a message for her for when she gets back to the office?"

"No, I really need to talk to her, I'll just call the studio number and pray she picks up that or her cell." Aubrey hung up with Beca's receptionist and tried Beca's cell number first, knowing full well that when she was in the recording studio she often had the phone on silent and since she was met with several rings and then Beca's voicemail she knew that was most likely the case. After leaving a quick message, Aubrey called the number she had for the recording studio hoping someone would answer. She had to call 6 times before someone finally answered the phone, clearly pissed by the phone ringing non-stop for the past 2 minutes.

"For Christ sake, what is it?"

"Is Beca Mitchell there? I need to speak with her."

"She's in the booth with the artist right now, she's gonna have to call you back."

"Listen dude, I don't know who you are and I don't care. I need you to grab Beca and tell her something is wrong with one of her kids and so help me God if you don't I will come down there and make sure Beca knows it was you that didn't tell her that her kid needed her." The man on the other end of the phone sighed and Aubrey could hear him shout down the hallway for someone to get Beca and that it was 'something about her kid'. Aubrey knew that if anyone told Beca that the kids needed her that she would come running, the question was how fast she would get to the phone. She didn't have to wonder long because soon Beca was on the other end of the phone panting like she ran a marathon.

"Aubrey, you are the only one scary enough to yell at any of my crew down here so I know its you. What's wrong? Which kid? Do I need to get to a hospital? What happened?"

"Beca, breathe. We are at my house, the younger kids are at the movies, Chloe and I are here with Johanna."

"Johanna? Why, what happened? Is she ok, is she hurt?"

"Beca…this is complicated. Just know she needs you to come home, like now."

"Duh dude, I'll leave after I hang up with you, but first you have to tell me what this is all about."

"Beca, this is not a conversation to have over the phone."

"Damn it Aubrey, just tell me." Aubrey sighed and knew there was no way around it: she had to tell Beca to get her to hang up the phone and come home.

"She has scars and cuts on her arm Beca. I bandaged them up, but some of them are pretty recent."

"Scars? Like someone has been hurting her?"

"In a sense. Beca, they were all self-inflicted." The line went silent except for Beca breathing and she finally found her words. "Self-inflicted? Aubrey, are you telling me my 16-year-old is cutting herself?"

"I'm sorry Beca, yes, that is what I am telling you."

"I'm gonna leave the studio now. I will for sure hit traffic, are you and Chloe ok with her until I can get to your place?"

"Beca you know she is perfectly safe here. I won't let anything happen to her and neither will Chloe."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just…don't know what to think right now." Aubrey felt bad for her friend because as tough as Beca was her voice was still breaking up at the news of her child suffering in such a way.

"Just get home safely and we will figure it out from there ok. Drive safe, she is with Chloe in my room and we aren't going anywhere so don't break traffic laws to get here."

"Tell her I'm on my way and that I love her."

"You know I will. I'll see you when you get here." Aubrey hung up the phone and returned to the bedroom to find Chloe standing at the foot of her bed watching a sleeping Johanna.

"What are we going to do Chloe?" The redhead shook her head.

"I have no idea. How'd Beca take it?"

"She is devastated and mad for not seeing it sooner. I could hear it in her voice that she is blaming herself for not seeing it before now."

"She spends time are all our houses, we could've noticed it too. She hid it well Bree."

"I don't think blaming anybody is gonna help her. It would just make her feel like she needs to punish herself and that will only make this worse."

"Did she say anything to you before I got here?"

"She said she needed help and when I called you she said that I didn't have to stay in the room with her because she wasn't going to kill herself while I was on the phone with you." Chloe rubbed her forehead and looked to Bree.

"Shit Bree, do we need to take her to the hospital?"

Aubrey shook her head, "I don't think she's suicidal Chloe, I think she's depressed and anxious, but Beca can make that call when she gets here."

"What do we do in the mean time?"

"We wait and we support her. She just needs to know that we aren't going to abandon her to fight this alone."

 **I hope people don't hate this, but it was an idea I had and wanted to get it out there. This story may have like two more chapters to it before I wrap it up and this story arch seemed like a good note to end on. If you have things you want to see for when Beca and Louisa come home just let me know.**


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